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Buffalo Joxes" 
Forty Years of Adventure 



A VOLUME OF FACTS GATHERED FROM EXPERIENCE, BY HON. O. J. 
JONES, WHOSE EVENTFUL LIFE HAS BEEN DEVOTED TO THE PRES- 
ERVATION OF THE AMERICAN BISON AND OTHER WILD 
animals; AVHO survived the perils OF THE 
FROZEN NORTH, THE LAND OP THE MID- 
NIGHT SUN, AMONG ESKIMOS, IN- 
DIANS, AND THE FEROCIOUS 
BEASTS OF NORTH 
AMERICA 



t^ 






COM PILED BY 



Colonel Henry Inman 



Crane & Company, Publisherb 
ToPEKA, Kanrab 

1899 









-o 



38394 



Copyright 1899, by Crank «& Co. 



T^O^«^i^i» wfiOeiVEC^ 




JUL IB 1899 1 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction xi 

CHAPTER I 

Millions of Buffalo — Their Haunts — So Numerous People 
Neglected to Study their Habits and Value — Killed for their 
Hides Only — Coronado Gave First Historical Account of the 
Buffalo and the Great AVest, in 1542 — Jones's First Buffalo — 
Horses Stampeded — "'Rained Hail as Large as Oi'anges" — 
Buffalo made for Blizzards, Siroccos, and all kinds of Weather 

— Struggling for Mastership of Herd — Buffalo-Bull Fight ... 1 

CHAPTER II 

BUFFALO .TONES 

Early Days in Illinois — A Live Deer Tied to Horse's Tail — A 
Perilous Adventure — Abraham Lincoln Pleads his Father's 
Cause for $10 — School-Days Very Few — Capturing and Sell- 
ing a Squirrel Fixes his Ruling Passion — A Small Menagerie 

— Could Conquer any Animal — Asleep in the Field at Mid- 
night — Rescued by Searching Party — At College — Bound for 
the Wild West 14 

CHAPTER III 

■"WESTWARD no ! " 

Journey to the Frontier in a Prairie Schooner — Mrs. Jones's 
Introduction to Camp Life — Plenty of Wolves — Team Es- 
capes on the Journey — Recapturing — Joyous Meeting 30 

CHAPTER IV 

DESPERADOES 

Buffalo Jones as a Farmer — Abandons Farming to Shoot Buf- 
falo — Fails to Shoot Any — Mysterious Mirage — Buffalo 
Seemingly Running High in the Air — Desperadoes in Camp 
— "I am Going to Kill You Right Here!" — Rescued by a 

Plucky Boy 37 

• (ill) 



IV CONTENTS 

CHAPTER Y 

THE FIRST HUNT FOR CALVES 

Buffalo in Nature's Pasture— Why Not Corral Them There ? — 
Resolved to Try at Last Moment — The Start — Encounter 
the Old Bulls — Night Search for Water — Companion Extin- 
guishes Beacon -Fire — Feared tlie Indians — Grandeur of 
Sunrise on the Plains — Discovers a Herd — "Rescuing the 
Perishing" — Horse Tied to Calf, and Its Mother After the 
Horse — A. Lucky Shot — A Day of Narrow Escapes — Captures 
Four Calves — Famishing for Water — Penetrates Llano Esta- 
cado — Letting a Companion Down a Bluff for Water — Rope 
Slips — Sun "Goes Down on his Wrath" — Last Herd Lo- 
cated — Fourteen Calves Captured — Sheds Garments to Pro- 
tect Calves from AYolves — White Buffalo 47 

CHAPTER VI 



Dangers of the Plains — Tenderfoot Stood Little Show Against 
Indians — Only One Way to Fight Them — Battle with Ar- 
rapahoes — Gave Them a Surprise — Buffalo-Hunters, and Not < 
Soldiers, Conquered the Indians — Nearly Caught while Skin- ' 
ning a Buffalo — The " Greatest Show on Eartli" — Two Hun- 
dred Warriors Surround a Herd of Buffalo — Signaling at 
Long Distance SS 

CHAPTER YII 

PRAIRIE FIRES 

Reminder of World's Destruction — Daylight Turned to Dark- 
ness — People Driven Into Cellars, and Breathe Through 
Towels and Handkerchiefs — AVild Animals Flee for Their 
Lives — Like the Roar of a Cyclone — To the Rescue — How to 
Escape — Many Wild Animals Perish 103 

CHAPTER YIII 

SECOND nUXT FOR OALVES 

Everybody AVanted to Go, but Couldn't, except Two Persist- 
ent Strangers, who Drove Into an Irrigation Ditch, where 
Horse Balked — Wanted Jones to Kill Him — Arriving at 
''Robbers' Roost" — Wild-Horse Hunter Yery Much Bewil- 
dered — "Buffalo, by Jupiter! " — Everything Done in a Min- 



CONTENTS V 

ute — Colonel Jones and Mr. Carter Dash After the Herd- 
Secure Three Calves — Cow Fights to the Death — Searching 
for Water in tlie Darkness Ill 

CHAPTER IX 

SECOND CALF HUNT (concluded ) 

Milking a Buffalo Cow — Excellent Butter — A Long March — 
Calf Captured by Horse Throwing Rider on its Neck — Stran- 
gers After a Bull — Took Both to Kill It, and then Didn't 
Get Him—" The Herd ! The Herd ! "—Colonel Jones Never 
Lost — Buffalo Right in Camp— "Get Down and Crawl!"— 
Holes Cut in the Colonel's Tent to Shoot Through — Horses 
Left to Die — Plenty of Calves, but no Water — Strangers 
Wanted Another Trial, then Another 140 

CHAPTER X 

M-ILD HORSES — OTHER ANIMALS 

Origin, Habitat, Greatest Number, Size, Color, Style, and Sur- 
roundings — Stallion Never Leads, but Drives the Herd — 
Contest for Mastership — Colonel Jones Always Found Water 
by Following Them — Speed and Endurance — Prairie-Dogs, 
Owls, and Rattlesnakes — "Happy Family" Theory not True — 
Held at Bay by a Monstrous Rattler 167 

CHAPTER XI 

SUCCESSFUL CALF HUNT 

Extravagant Preparations — Took Domestic Cows to the Range 
— Comi)etition Quelled — Competitor's Handsome Reward — 
Sunday in Camp — Herd Discovered — " Hurrah, Boys, Sunday 
or no Sunday!" — Capture Eleven Calves in Short Time — 
Pathetic Poem — Shooting AVithout a Sight — Wolves Devour 
Calves — Wonderful Success — Long Journey for More Cows — 
Taken for Cattle-Thieves — Colonel Jones Secures ]\Iilch Cows 
at Fabulous Prices — Irishman Sorry He Didn't Ask More — 
Tlie Typical Cowboy and Ranchman 181 

CHAPTER XII 

THE ANTELOPE 

Tlie Shyest and Fleetest of all Animals — "A Mighty Good 
Greyliound to Catch a Mighty Poor Antelope" — Wliole City 
on a Hunt, Dogs Included — Colonel Jones Kills More than 
All 184 



Vi CONTENTS 

OHAPTEK XIII 

THE LAST HUNT 

On the Desert — Sends News by Carrier-Pigeons— Buffalo Dis- 
covered — Effort to Corral the Herd — Three Calves Quickly 
Captured — The Mother's Desperate Charge — Caught in a 
Deluge — Hard Ride for a Calf — Roping full-grown Buffalo- 
Awaiting the Last Opportunity — Forty-two Days and Nights 
in Pursuit of Last Herd — Colonel Jones's Wonderful Success 
Recorded in History 201 

CHAPTER XIV 

BUFFALO ON THE WATER 

Colonel Jones Bound for the Old World — Loading Buffalo on 
an Ocean Steamer — Big Show without an Audience — Sea- 
sick Animals — Sensation in Liverpool — Congratulations from 
Prince of AVales — Accepts from Colonel Jones, Robe made of 
Buffalo Fur . . .- 225 

' CHAPTER XV 

LAST OF THE BUFFALO 

Buffalo not of One Family — Organization of a Herd- How 
Herd was Located — Stampede Equal to a Cyclone — The 
Cause and Result — Only Method of Escape — Colonel Jones 
Captures Canada's Last Herd— After Moose — Catalo, the 
New Race of Cattle — Description and Habits — Need no 
Artificial Food or Shelter— Robes as Handsome as Beaver. .230 

CHAPTER XVI 

DOMESTICATED BUFFALO 

Habits as Compared with the Wild Buffalo — Propagation- 
Takes Nerve to Conquer — Corrals of Wire — Buffalo Kills his 
Captor — "John L. Sullivan," which Never Met his "Cor- 
bett "—Training Buffalo to Work, no Boy's Play — Lines Held 
with a Windlass — Government Responsible for Extermina- 
tion of Buffalo — Colonel Jones's Proposition to Corral the 
Last Herd — Warned the Government of Danger — Number 
Existing at Different Periods — Unwritten Code of Hunters — 
Why Trails are Crooked — How to Kill a Whole Herd 246 



I'ONTENTS VU 

CHAPTER XVII 

OXE OP THE GREATEST RACES ON RECORD 

Opening of the Cherokee Outlet — Oklahoma, "the Beautiful 
Land" — Horses and Eiders Trampled Beneath a Living Av- 
alanche — Genuine "Jehu" and Red-Headed Darling in the 
Race — The Most Reckless Equestrienne in the AVorld — Facts 
Never Before Made Known — Colonel Jones Rode Two Horses, 
and AVon the Race 266 

CHAPTER XVIII 

BUFFALO JOXES'S ARCTIC EXPEDTTIO.N 

Bound for the Arctic Regions after Musk-Oxen and Other Ani- 
inals — Route Through Canada — "White Girl Held in Cap- 
tivity by Indians — Leaves Civilization — Alone in a Boat 
Down the Athabaska River — Indians Oppose his Mission — 
Boat Capsized and Indians Refuse his Life-Line — Hot Day 
in the Far North — Crossing Athabaska Lake — On the Peace 
and Slave Rivers — Big Chiefs Hold a Council to Prevent his 
Progress L'77 

CHAPTER XIX 

BOUND NORTHWARD 

Ordered to Return by Indians — Reaches Great Slave Lake — 
Tossed at Midnight by an Angry Tempest — Reaches Ruins of 
Searching Party — Fort Reliance — Treachery of Big Indian 
Siena 302 

CHAPTER XX 

IX WINTER QUARTERS 

Indian's Wife of Less Value than a Dog — Mercury at Zero 
October 10 — J. R. Rea, a Hero of Heroes — Desperation of 
Indians — Deaf and Dumb Girl's Sufferings — Children Fright- 
ened at White Man — " Hoppy Shompooly " (Sweet Salt), 
White Sugar — Indians take Provisions by Force — Apply the 
Torch to Colonel Jones's Cabin — Shoots his First Reindeer — 
Indians Starving — Conjure Caribou's Return — Wlien they 
did Come, Colonel Jones Killed More than the Whole Tribe 
— They Claimed but did not Get Them 320 



VUl CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXI 

AFTER Ml'SK-OXEX 

Arranging a Musk-Ox Hunt — Mr. Rea Makes a Long Journey 
with Indians — Caught in a Terrific Blizzard — Greatest 
Waterfalls of the Far North — Second Xiagara — Reindeer 
Everywhere — Driving Them Into a Corral — Indians Deter- 
mined to Stay and Eat "White Man's Meat — Could Not Drive 
Them Away 334 

CHAPTER XXII 

DESPERATION IX ARCTIC REGIONS 

Indians Left Squaw and Child to Perish — The Scanty Supply 
Divided with Them — Drove Them Out when Mercury was at 
Forty-eight Below Zero — Little Ellen Covered with Icicles — 
Squaw Cut her Foot as an Excuse to Remain — Colonel 
Jones's Long Journey in Midwinter — Clothes Frozen Stiff — 
Failed to Find Indian Village — Frightened Indians to Save 
Supplies — Reindeer Appear at Last Moment — Indian Fright- 
ened Them Away — " Too Mad to Swear " 347 

CHAPTER XXIII 

MUSK-OX HUNT 

Start for the Far North on Dog-Sleds — Crossing Mountains — 
On Artillery Lake — Terrific Blizzard — In Blankets Thirty- 
six Hours, Facing Wind at Forty Degrees Below Zero — On 
Clinton Golden Lake — Camped in " Land of Little Sticks"— 
Dog Carried off by Wolves — Colonel Jones's Narrow Escape 
— Discover New Rivers and Lakes — Musk-Oxen at Last — 
Kill Six — Description — Indian Superstition — Cross Great 
Fish River and Arctic Circle — Out of Wood, and Compelled 
to Return — Guide Badly Lost — Depended on the Colonel's 
Compass— Arrive at '"Little Sticks "—Guide Abandons the 
Two Nimrods — They Again Penetrate to the Far North 364 

CHAPTER XXI Y 

HEROIC EFFORT BRINGS REWARD 

Two White Men on the Barren Lands Without a Guide — Keep 
Going Until Near the Magnetic Pole — Young Musk-Oxen 



CONTENTS IX 

Discovered — Old Ones Shot and Calves Lassoed — A "Wild 
West Show" in the Arctic Zone — Shepherd Dog Devoured by 
"Wolves — Night Made Hideous — Start fur Home — Destruc- 
tion by "Wolves Appears Imminent — Figliting Wolves by 
Night and Traveling by Day — Indians or Eskimos Cut the 
Throats of the Musk-Ox Calves while Captors Sleep — Am- 
munition Gone, therefoi'e Compelled to Return — Colonel 
Jones Fires the Last Cartridge and Hits the Mark — Saved 
from Starvation — Reaching Cabin in Deplorable Condition. .380 

CHAPTER XXV 

AT THE CABIN HOME 

Dogs with Hydrophobia — Cuts Steel Chain with Teeth — Mr. 
Rea's Narrow Escape — In Summer, Waiting for Summer — 
How to Reach the North Pole — A Start for the Sunny South 

— Fourth of July, but Still Frozen in the lee — Living on 
Bread Alone — Mosquitoes and Gnats in Swarnls — Arrival at 
Fort Resolution — First News of War with Spain — Music in 
the Far North — "Sweetest Ever Heard" — Colonel Jones 
Fancied he was in the " Spirit Land " — Grand Reception 396 

CHAPTER XXVI 

METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA 

'"Total Darkness" and "Everlasting Day" — Extreme Tem- 
perature of Each Month — Precipitation — Burnt by Cold 
Steel — Brilliant Display of Aurora Borealis — Mock Suns — 
Ice Upheavals, etc., etc 417 

CHAPTER XXVII 

IXniAXS AND ESKIMOS OF THE FAR NORTH 

Differ from Other Indians — Mode of Living in Land of Dark- 
ness — Women Slaves —Meat and Fish the Only Diet of the 
Natives — Marriage Relation — Names of Tribes — Location 

— Their Habits, Dwellings, Intelligence, Superstitions — Tra- 
ditional History — Happiest People on Earth, but at Times 
the Most Miserable — Education Ruins all Indians in that 
Country who Attempt It 423 



X CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XXYIII 

HOMEWARD BOIND 

In a Storm on the Lake — Rudder Breaks — Waves Roll Into 
the Boat — Boat Following is Capsized — One Man Drowned, 
Others Washed Ashore — Protestant Mission on the Macken- 
zie River — Catholic Priests Need Attention— A Visit to the 
Spot where Franklin Spent a Dreary Winter on Great Bear 
Lake — Picture of his Cabin — Desolation — In the Ramparts 
— Crossed the Arctic Circle — Fort Good Hope — Sail on the 
Arctic Ocean — Up Peel's and Rat Rivers — Hundreds of 
Gold -Seekers Caught in that Desolate Region — Shooting 
Down the Cascades of the Pacific Slope — Boat Smashed on a 
Rock — Long Journey Down the Porcupine — Fort Yukon — 
St. Michael's — Facts About Alaska of Great Interest — On 
Bering Sea — Reached Seattle — Grand Reception at the 
Colonel's Old Home — Everybody Sang, "My Country, 'tis 
of Thee," and " Home, Sweet Home" 437 



INTRODUCTION 

It is the mission of this volume to present, from a 
carefully kept journal, the thrilling incidents, experi- 
ences and observations, together with the results of the 
efforts of one who has devoted the best years of his life to 
saving from absolute extinction one of the once most con- 
spicuous, in point of numbers, of all the large mammals 
on the North-American continent: the bison, or buffalo 
as commonly designated. He has also exerted his ener- 
gies in behalf of the preservation of other animals of 
his native country. The field of his labors embraced all 
of the great territory extending from the Gulf of Mexico 
to and including the frozen wilderness of the Arctic 
Circle. So remarkable and full of exciting personal ad- 
venture have been the eft'orts of Mr. Jones in the direc- 
tion indicated, that he has a world-wide reputation, and 
is familiarly known to the people of both North America 
and Europe by his well-earned sobriquet of "Buffalo 
Jones." 

His travels in the remote regions of the North-Ameri- 
can continent are a chapter of hardships, privations and 
dangers which rarely fall to any individual in modern 

times, and show what indomitable courage, self-possession 

(II) 



X;i INTRODUCTION 

and determination can accomplish under the most ad- 
verse conditions. At the same time, "Buffalo" Jones 
has been a close observer of nature, — of all its physical 
characteristics. In this volume he presents the results 
of his investigations. The reader will find here many 
things which will be new to him, and that the book is of 
thrilling interest, and is instructive as well. 

Heney Inman. 



FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER I 

MILLIONS OF BUFFALO — THEIR HAUNTB — 80 NUMEROUS, 

PEOPLE NEGLECTED TO STUDY THEIR HABITS AND WORTH 

KILLED FOR THEIR HIDES ONLY CORONADO GAVE FIRST 

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THEM AND THE GREAT WEST, IN 
1542 — JONES's FIRST BUFFALO — DUTCHMAN'S HORSES 
STAMPEDED BY COMING TOO NEAR HERD — "RAINED HAIL 
AS LARGE AS ORANGES " ! — BUFFALO MADE FOR BLIZZARDS, 
SIROCCOS, AND ALL CLIMATIC ELEMENTS — STRUGGLE FOB 
MASTERSHIP OF THE HERD — GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF A 
BUFFALO-BULL FIGHT 

A FEW years ago, — scarcely a quarter of a century, — 
millions upon millions of American bison, or buf- 
falo as they are generally though erroneously 
called, roamed over the vast plains of the intra- 
continental region of North America. Now, they are so 
reduced in number that absolutely the last lingering 
spark of vitality is smouldering on the very verge of ex- 
tinction. If nothing had been effected toward rescuing 
them, the buffalo, like the Auk and Dodo, would soon 
have been found mounted in museums only, as mere speci- 
mens ; a silent monument to the wantonness and cupidity 
of man. 

The geographical area over which these immense animals 
grazed, comprised millions of square miles. When the 

(1) 



2 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

railroads penetrated this heretofore almost inaccessible 
territory, transportation suddenly became relatively cheap ; 
then there was at once created an unprecedented demand 
for the beautiful soft robes of the buffalo, and millions 
were sent to Europe to be converted into leather. Almost 
immediately, too, the slaughter of the fated beasts achieved 
such proportions that annihilation was a question of a 
short period. 

Thousands, even millions, of green hides appeared in 
the markets of the world, and tourists, attracted by the 
novelty attending the opening of the continent, which 
the press announced in graphic word-painting, com- 
menced an indiscriminate onslaught on the now appar- 
ently doomed animals. 

To a relatively limited number of persons the interior 
of the country west of the Missouri was well known. To 
the majority it was a veritable terra incognita. Now, how- 
ever, there was a phenomenal inrush, whose crowds began 
to kill merely for the sport it furnished. For miles along 
the great trunk lines, then wending their way across the 
so-called "desert," the carcasses of the huge beasts were 
collected so thickly that one could have walked hundreds 
of miles, on either side of the track, on their bleached 
bones. 

To properly present the slow, weary, and sometimes 
discouraging steps which marked Colonel Jones's career 
in his initiatory attempt to preserve a nucleus of the un- 
fortunate animals (which he hopes and firmly believes 
will reestablish the bison, with all the superior qualities 
of this species of the bovine family), it is necessary, in 
order that the reader may intelligently appreciate his 
labors, to portray their original haunts, habits, value, 
characteristics, and the methods he employed in captur- 
ing, domesticating, and cross-breeding, as contained in 
his remarkably interesting journal. 

It is an indisputable fact, that notwithstanding the 
bison had been known to exist on the Great Plains for 



HABITS AND WORTH OF THE BUFFALO 3 

four centuries, were at one time almost as numerous as 
the "sands of the seashore," and that a large number of 
people had been in constant contact with them, yet the 
world is really unacquainted with them, even to this day. 
Had the American bison been a rare species of ruminant, 
few in number, confined to some remote island or limited 
geographical area, all that science would have regarded as 
necessary to know relating to them would have long 
since been published. Biological societies would have 
vied with each other to report what they had discovered ; 
the text-books of our educational institutions would have 
been full of their habits, as they are of the African lion, 
the camel, or the giraffe. The very fact that they existed 
in such appalling numbers right at home, as it were, is the 
reason, perhaps, of their having been regarded of such 
little consequence, from a utilitarian standpoint at least. 

The savage of the prairies knew more of their service- 
ableness, of their priceless utility, than the solitary trap- 
per, or freighter across the great desert, who merely killed 
an occasional one for his meat, or to procure a new robe 
for his own immediate use. 

The American bison has been traced backward through 
the ages by scientists, with a certainty, to a period ante- 
rior by a thousand years to the dawn of the Christian era. 
It has been known relatively well by historians, for at 
least eighteen centuries. 

Mr. W. T. Hornaday, superintendent of the Taxider- 
mical Department of the Smithsonian Institution, Wash- 
ington, D. C, in his report to the Fiftieth Congress, sets 
forth the claim that Cortez, the Spanish conqueror of 
Mexico, gave the first historical account of the American 
bison, in the year 1521. He quotes the following extract, 
-written by De Soto, one of Cortez' retainers, after he vis- 
ited the Zoological Gardens of the Emperor of Mexico, 
Montezuma : 

" In the second square of the same house were the wild 
beasts which were either presented to Montezuma, or taken 



4 FOETY YEAE8 OP ADVENTURES 

by his hunters, in strong cages of timber, ranged in good 
order, and under cover: lions, tigers, bears, and all others 
of the savage kind which New Spain produced ; among 
which the greatest rarity was a Mexican bull, — a wonder- 
ful composition of divers animals. It has crooked shoul- 
ders, with a bunch on its back like a camel. Its flanks dry, 
its tail large, and its neck covered with hair like a lion. 
It is cloven-footed, its head armed like that of a bull, 
which it resembles in fierceness, with 210 less strength and 
agility." 

The above quaint description does not by any means 
give a clear, fair picture of the American bison ; particu- 
larly, the large tail spoken of does not belong to that ani- 
mal. The inference is that De Soto did not see a buffalo 
at all. If he had really seen the American bison, he 
would have been so enraptured that necessarily he would 
have been obliged to transmit to posterity a more elabo- 
rate report. His description is not accurate. The animal 
he did see was undoubtedly just what he claimed it to be, 
a "Mexican bull," with great shaggy shoulders, and ex- 
ceedingly heavy tail, — which the bison has not. 

Mr. Hornaday quotes another Spanish explorer, Alvar 
Nunez Cabega de Baca, as having seen the American 
bison in southern Texas, nine years after the first-men- 
tioned date (1580). Cabega thus describes what he saw: 

"Cattle come as far as this. I have seen them three 
times, and eaten of their meat. I think they are about 
the size of those in Spain. They have small horns, like 
those of Morocco, and their hair long and flocky, like 
that of a merino. Some are light-brown (pardillos), and 
others black. To my judgment, the flesh is finer and 
sweeter than those of this country. 

"The Indians make blankets of those that are not 
fully grown, and of the larger they make shoes and 
buckles. They come as far as the seacoast of Florida,^ 

1 The whole region watered by the Mississippi and Missouri rivers was called 
Florida. 



JONES S FIRST BUFFALO O 

and in a direction of more than four hundred leagues. 
In the whole extent of plains over which they roam the 
people who live bordering upon it descend and kill them 
for food ; and thus a great many skins are scattered 
throughout the country," 

This last account is not any more satisfactory in its 
details than that of De Soto's, especially where it refers 
to the size of buffalo being that of Spanish cattle. As 
everyone knows, Spanish cattle are mere pigmies com- 
pared to buffalo, Cabega describes more accurately the 
Texas cattle than the l^ison (which are nearer the size 
and colors of Spanish cattle), so striking in their pe- 
culiar appearance to a stranger. 

Colonel Jones says: "The fact is, the first herd of 
buffalo I ever saw, was composed of about twenty old 
bulls. The gentleman who was with me, Mr. Shultz, 
first noticed them coming toward us, and we secreted 
ourselves in a shallow buffalo-wallow, having to lie very 
close to the ground to prevent their seeing us, Mr, 
Shultz was an experienced hunter, and both of us were 
possessed of good guns; but before the animals came 
within three hundred yards of where we were lying, I 
said to my partner in a whisper: 'Let us compromise 
with the monsters ; if they will let us alone, we'll let 
them,go by,' Mr. Shultz smiled as I trembled; I could 
not have hit a whole flock of barns two hundred feet 
away. The buffalo grazed along, coming so close that at 
every mouthful of grass they gathered I could distinctly 
hear a puff from their nostrils, and their teeth grinding 
together. They appeared to me hideous monsters. They 
resembled elephants, and as they moved toward us the 
very earth appeared to shake, I paid no more attention 
to them ; they were too near for comfort, and I shut my 
eyes, scarcely daring to breathe, when suddenly, like a 
clap of thunder, came the report of a gun, and I was 
nearly paralyzed. Mr. Shultz had fired at the leader of 



6 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

the herd 1 His gun was about as large as a small cannon ; 
the discharge was terrific. When silence was again re- 
stored, I discovered that at least one buffalo couldn't 
scare me 'worth a cent.' " 

No one after seeing the majestic creatures would ever 
describe them as " cattle about the size of those in Spain, 
with small horns, some brown and some black," etc. Nor 
does Mr. Hornaday so classify them, in his exhaustive 
history of the great ruminant, comprising more than one 
hundred and fifty pages of his report to the second session 
of the Fiftieth Congress. 

The first authentic description of the American bison of 
the great central plains of the continent, is unquestiona- 
bly that to be found in the itinerary of Coronado's wonder- 
ful march in search of the "Seven Cities of Cibola," 
during the year 1542. He was also the first white man to 
tell us anything of that vast region west of the Missouri 
river, and its resources. He was the primitive pioneer of 
those early days of exploration; the peer of the "Path- 
finder," General Fremont, when time and conditions are 
considered. 

That Coronado saw the genuine American bison, is more 
than confirmed by the graphic description he gives of 
them. There can be no mistake after reading the record 
from the pen of the historian, Castenada : 

"The first time we encountered the buffalo, all our 
horses took flight on seeing them, for they are horrible to 
the sight. They have a broad and short face ; eyes two 
palms from each other, and projecting in such a manner 
sidewise that they can see a pursuer. Their beard is like 
that of goats, and so long that it drags the ground when 
they lower the head. They have on the anterior portion 
of the body a frizzled hair like sheep's wool; it is very 
fine upon the croup, and sleek like a lion's mane. Their 
horns are very short and thick, and can scarcely be seen 
through the hair. They always change their hair in May, 



DUTCHMAN S HORgES STAMPEDED 7 

and at this season they really resemble lions. They make 
it drop more quickly, for they change it as adders do their 
skins ; they will roll among the brushwood which they 
find in the ravines. 

" Their tail is very short, and terminates in a great tuft. 
When they run they carry it in the air like a scorpion. 
When quite young they are tawny, and resemble our 
calves." 

From the foregoing unique description, any intelligent 
person would recognize a buffalo, even if its shadow alone 
were seen. 

How it makes an old plainsman laugh to read Castena- 
da's first line : " The first time we encountered the buffalo 
all our horses took flight on seeing them, for they are 
horrible to the sight." The fact is, there is nothing so 
repulsive to a "green" horse as a sight or scent of a buf- 
falo. Many a man has been left on the open prairie by 
the too close proximity of a herd of these animals to the 
horse he was riding or driving ; many horses have stam- 
peded, for the same reason, when picketed out to graze. 
I was once compelled to " hoof it " for twenty miles, from 
such an experience, and a more delighted individual the 
reader never heard of, when I discovered it was only that 
short distance instead of a hundred, and that I did not lose 
my fine team as well. 

I remember at one time meeting a poor German near 
the Kansas and Colorado line, west of where the flourish- 
ing town of Colby is now located, who was in a terrible 
predicament. It was in the spring of 1872. He was an 
emigrant to the mountains, and was able to speak only 
very indifferent English. All his possessions, when I met 
him, consisted of an old-fashioned muzzle-loading rifle 
and a pair of nearly worn-out shoes, which he carried in 
his hand. The antiquated gun was as worthless a piece 
for those troublesome days on the border as I had ever 
seen. It might have been one captured by General Blucher 



O FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

from the French at the battle of Waterloo, and kept as 
an heirloom in the family of the disconsolate fellow trudg- 
ing along in the wilderness of prairie around him. He 
was more than a hundred miles from any settlement, and 
had in all probability been wandering hopelessly in a 
circle, for two days or more. 

His first salutation was : " Haben sie wasser ? " " Yes, 
plenty," I answered, at the same time passing him a can- 
teen which had recently been filled from a ten-gallon keg 
that was always kept strapped to the side of the wagon. 
The poor fellow was nearly choked. After filling himself, 
he caught his breath, and told me as best he could that 
he had lost two horses, asking if I knew where they were — 
" or do you know nottings?" I grasped the situation at 
once, and was satisfied he had been too close to a herd of 
buffalo. This he confirmed by attempting to explain how 
it happened : He was surprised ]jy a great number of the 
beasts, and his horses, never having seen such animals be- 
fore, naturally stampeded, leaving him all alone on the 
prairie, remote from any assistance. He was a piteous- 
looking object, indeed. He had given up all hope ; had 
become despondent, and if I had not fortunately met him 
at this particular juncture, he would in all probability 
have gone insane, and the wolves battened on his bones 
before sundown of the following day. 

I had passed a hunting-party about fifteen miles back, 
some of whom I knew ; they had incidentally mentioned 
to me the fact of having picked up a team of " plug" 
horses, which they supposed some "mover" to Colorado 
had abandoned to die, they were so misei'ably thin and 
weak. From the description given me, and what the Ger- 
man had attempted to convey in his queer jargon, I knew 
the animals were identical. I really felt sorry for the old 
fellow, and assured him I would recover his lost team, — 
at which he was nearly wild. I then said to him and my 
men, we would go into camp about six miles to the south- 
west, near the foot of a high butte plainly discernible 



RETURN OF THE HORSES 9 

from where we then were, and dispatch one of my party 
on a broncho for his horses — ( I always use these ponies 
on my hunting expeditions), telling him to return by sun- 
down the next day. 

Promptly as the sun was sinking in the western horizon 
the following evening, my messenger returned with the 
missing animals. They were certainly the most "ornery" 
creatures one might see in an age; just able to stagger 
along. What on earth could scare such miserable brutes 
would have been an indescribable enigma, if it were not 
known what a herd of buffalo could effect in that direc- 
tion . 

When I met the old man he was in a terrible condition 
physically : his feet were so galled they were absolutely 
raw; it was impossible for him to wear his shoes; — 
yet he was as happy as if he had discovered a gold 
mine, when the jaded horses were turned over to him. 
The next morning he started westward again on his 
lonesome journey, profuse in his thanks for what I had 
done. 

I could relate circumstances of stampedes, until every 
page of this book would be filled, showing what a sudden 
appearance of a herd of buffalo has effected on the plains 
with the "tenderfoot" in hundreds of instances. I have 
presented this one, merely to give the reader an idea of 
one of the vexations which often came to the hunter and 
the emigrant on their lonely "trails" across the conti- 
nent, and to prove that Coronado gave us the first intelli- 
gent description of the American bison. 

To return to the first authentic account of the Ameri- 
can bison. It goes without saying, that Coronado'a 
historian gave an unquestionably accurate description, 
and the intrepid Spaniard saw the real thing. He not 
only saw the Iniffalo, but so perfectly does he tell of the 
" great plains," that " he who runs may read." 

From Hukluyt's voyages, Vol. Ill, (London, 1600,) I 



10 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

extract a few paragraphs concerning the subject, which 
are indisputable : 

"From Cicuye they went to 'Quivira,' which, after 
their recent account, is almost three hundred leagues 
distant, through miighty plains, and sandy heaths, so 
smooth and wearisome, and bare of wood, that they made 
heaps of ox-dung, for want of stones and trees, that they 
might not lose themselves at their return; for three 
horses were lost on that plain, and one Spaniard who 
went from his company hunting. 

"All that way of plains are as full of crooked-back 
oxen as the mountain Serrena in Spain is full of sheep, 
but there is no such people as keep those cattle. They 
were a great succor for the hungry, and want of bread, 
which our people stood in need of. 

"One day it rained in that plain a great shower of 
hail, as big as oranges, which caused many tears, weak- 
ness, and bowes. 

"These oxen are of the bigness and color of our bulls, 
but their bones are not so great. They have a great bunch 
on their fore shoulder, and more hair on their fore part 
than on their hinder part, and it is like wool. They 
have, as it were, a horse-mane upon their backbone, and 
much hair, and very long, from their knees downward. 

" They have great tufts of hair hanging down their fore- 
heads, and it seemeth they have beards because of the great 
store of hair hanging down at their chins and throats. 

"The males have very large tails, and a great knob or 
flock at the end, so that in some respects they resemble 
the lion, and in some others the camel. 

"They push with their horns ; they run ; they overtake 
and kill an horse when they are in their rage and anger. 

"Finally, it is afoul and fierce beast of countenance 
and form of body. 

" The horses fled from them, either because of their de- 
formed shape, or else because they had never before seen 
them." 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BUFFALO 11 

Here we find a most accurate description of the buffalo 
(except the large tail). No one who is familiar with the 
animal will contest that the beast Castenada writes of is 
any other than the genuine American bison. 

This historian also says, as to the buffalo increasing 
in age: " They change form and color." The facts are 
these, from my observations, and handling them for 
years : the young buffalo, when they reach their fifth 
month, shed their tawny coat, and assume the natural 
hue of the adult; that is, seal-brown. The hump, which 
is one of the most prominent physical characteristics, 
does not make its appearance until the calves are two 
to three months old. 

The ears of the young buffalo are entirely different 
from those of the domestic calf : they are small, round, 
and full of long hairs. The change from a round body to 
a great hump is very gradual, commencing when the ani- 
mal has attained about three months, continuing until it 
is from five to seven years old, according to sex, at which 
time it arrives at its full growth. 

Nature is never more persistent in any of its creations 
than in that of the buffalo's anatomy, or in its habits so 
suited to its wild environment. A more perfect animal 
for the strange surroundings of its habitat could not have 
been constructed. It is ever prepared for the severest 
*' blizzard " from the far north, or the hottest " sirocco " 
of the torrid zone. It is so constructed that it always 
faces every danger, whether it be the pitiless storm from 
the Arctic regions or its natural enemy, the gray wolf of 
the desert. This ghoul of the prairie never is permitted 
to approach its victim from the rear excepting when over- 
powered by great numbers ; then they are " hamstrung" 
and rendered helpless. The young bull, also, who contends 
for the mastery of the herd, always faces his competitors. 

A more startling sight cannot be imagined than that of 
two shaggy monsters contending for the supremacy. With 
muzzles lowered, pawing the earth with their great hoofs, 



12 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTUREB 

raising clouds of impalpable dust from the hard dry sod, 
over which millions of their compeers have trodden for 
centuries, they cautiously circle around each other, meas- 
uring every possible vantage. Their great heads, matted 
with "bull-nettles" and "■ sand-burs " until twice their 
normal size, are alternately tossed high in the air, then as 
quickly lowered until their noses come within an inch of 
the ground. These are the preliminary tactics that gauge 
the battle, like the knights of old when they threw their 
gauntlets of steel into the arena. Their short, tufted tails 
are swollen as a cat's when in the ecstacy of its rage ; their 
backs curved up like the same pugnacious animal, and 
their hair bristling with the desire for battle. Now, when 
near enough to each other, comes the supreme moment for 
which they have been waiting ! Their eyes appear to send 
forth livid rays, like that emanating from an electric dy- 
namo, as they charge upon each other with the rush of a 
tornado at the height of its fury. Their short horns lock 
with a rattle which sounds like the firing of a battalion, 
directly over where they stand in their mighty struggle. 
The spectator is apparently almost paralyzed by the dis- 
play of energy and exertion of muscle displayed ))y the 
huge beasts, as he breathlessly waits for a lull in the 
terrible conflict which has completely entranced him. 

For a moment one of the combatants has secured an 
advantage over his adversary: he raises the whole front 
portion of his heavy antagonist clear from the ground on 
his horns in a maddened exhibition of strength ; but 
soon, perhaps, he falls beneath his living load; — he has 
lost his advantage! Instantly his opponent profits by 
the misfortune, and pins him, who was almost the victor 
a moment before, by the neck to the earth. Then it is 
that the spectator of the intensely interesting combat, 
inspired by the sympathy which ever goes out to the weak 
against the mighty, is seized with an almost uncontrol- 
lable desire to separate the ferociovis brutes. If he is an 
old plainsman, however, he knows that his own life would 



A BUFFALO-BULL FIGHT 13 

not be safe for a moment if he attempted it; besides, the 
monsters will take care of themselves ; they are consti- 
tuted for just such ferocious combats, death rarely com- 
ing to either combatant in these conflicts, unless in a 
close inclosure. 

The fight always continues until one of the contestors 
is conquered. Even then the vanquished animal keeps 
his face to the victor, moving backward until an oppor- 
tunity offers itself for him to skulk into seclusion, or out 
of sight of his now acknowledged master. Should they 
be closely corralled, death is sure to be the portion of the 
one conquered, as the bison is relentless, showing no 
mercy to his enemy in any instance. 

The skin of a full-grown buffalo's head and neck is an 
inch in thickness. It cannot be penetrated by a ball 
from an ordinary pistol or an old-fashioned rifle, much 
less by the horn of a competitor ; in fact it requires the 
best modern weapon to make an impression upon such a 
mass of indurated hide. The muscle of the buffalo has a 
wonderful adaptation to the requirements of the huge 
brute; the nostrils are immense, seemingly able to draw 
in a supply of air to last for a long period ; the lungs are 
comparably large to retain it. Their horns are set at the 
very best angle to be most effective in the awful battle 
which invariably falls to their portion at some time in 
their lives. I very much doubt if the lion is the "king 
of beasts," or could hold his own in an engagement with 
an enraged buffalo bull. 



CHAPTER II 

BUFFALO JONES 

EARLY DAYB IN ILLINOIS — HIS PARENTS' PERILOUS AD- 
VENTURE WITH A WOUNDED DEER — ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

PLEADS HIS father's CAUSE FOR $10 SCHOOL-DAYS 

FEW AND FAR BETWEEN — THE CAPTURING AND SELLING 
A SQUIRREL FIXES HIS RULING PASSION — POSSESSOR OF A 
SMALL MENAGERIE — NO ANIMAL TOO OBSTREPEROUS FOR 

HIM TO CONQUER — SLEEPING AT NIGHT IN THE FIELDS 

NEIGHBORS AROUSED INTO SEARCHING PARTIES — AN EF- 
FORT AT COLLEGE — BOUND FOR "BLEEDING KANSAS" 

SETTLING DOWN AS A "FAMILY MAN " 

CHARLES JESSE JONES, more familiarly known 
as " Buffalo Jones," (Colonel Jones, as he is by 
courtesy sometimes called,) was born in Tazewell 
county, 111., in 1844. His grandfather, Charles, 
for whom the grandson is named, was one of the pioneers 
of that State, having emigrated from Scituate, Massachu- 
setts, in 1826, eight years after the admission of Illinois 
into the Union. "Buffalo Jones's" grandmother was a 
Nichols, one of the most celebrated families of Boston. 

Noah Nichols Jones, the father of the subject of this 
sketch, was a mere boy when he accompanied his parents to 
the bleak primitive prairies of Illinois. He married Miss 
Jane Munden, whose family were of the God-fearing, ster- 
ling old-fashioned Virginia Quakers, and from this stock 
" Buffalo Jones " inherits some unmistakable traits which 
occasionally crop out in his nature. 

(14) 



EARLY DAYS IN ILLINOIS 15 

His father was very early thrown upon the cold world 
to struggle for himself, dependent entirely upon his own 
resources for his support. He was a man of great deter- 
mination ; possessing a strong will ; full of energy, which 
balked at nothing that was possible for a man to accom- 
plish. These characteristics are very prominent in his 
son, and are the secret of his success in all the novel un- 
dertakings he has attempted. 

The elder Jones preempted a tract of one hundred and 
sixty acres of Government land in McLean county, Illi- 
nois, which bordered a small stream called Money creek, 
where he settled down to the active, hard work of a pio- 
neer farmer, in the then " far West." Here, on this raw 
wild place, as "Buffalo Jones" himself expresses it, "I 
went through the ' sweat-box.' I was the second son of a 
family of twelve children, and from the time I was strong 
enough to pick up a basket of chips at the woodpile, until 
I had attained my majority, 'Work, work' was the watch- 
word of our home." 

Colonel Jones says that his father was a famous hunter 
in his younger days, not only because of a love for the 
exciting sport, but from necessity as well ; for in the wild 
condition of that region, "varmints," as they were pro- 
vincially called, — deer, beaver, otter, panthers, wolves, and 
coons, — abounded in the forests, on the prairie, and in 
the many streams. These were the real source of reve- 
nue, rather than the legitimate products of the roughly 
worked farms. The skins of the animals mentioned, and 
the flesh of the deer, particularly, were always in de- 
mand ; and these were the principal support of the fam- 
ily while, for a few years, the land was being brought 
into subjection. Of the time passed on the homestead. 
Colonel Jones tells many incidents, which have clung to 
"•memory's walls" ever since his babyhood. One of 
these I here relate in his own language : 

"I was only three years old, a mere baby in tow frocks. 
We were in the condition of the man digging for the 



16 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

groundhog, who was to entertain the deacon of his church 
that day — 'out of meat.' My father concluded that he 
must have some venison, so rose very early that morn- 
ing, — one of those sharp, crisp, frosty days in January, — 
jumped on a little pony-built horse that he used to ride 
on such expeditions, and started for a ' brush-patch ' about 
a mile from the house, which -was a favorite resort of the 
deer at that season. Arriving at the spot, he took a long 
circuit around the bushes, and, to his delight, saw an 
abundance of tracks in the freshly fallen snow. Quietly 
dismounting and tying his animal to a stout sapling, he 
walked on through the tall grass which covered the ground 
outside the brush, when to his surprise he saw, not over 
a hundred yards from where he had fastened his horse, a 
large buck with an immense set of antlers, lying in the 
short herbage, — the great horns, as is frequently the case, 
betraying his whereabouts. 

"In an instant the old-fashioned squirrel rifle — the 
arm -par excellence in those early days — was brought to 
his shoulder, the flint fell with a crash, the fire flew from 
it as it struck the pan, but the piece did not go off. 
Much to his surprise and chagrin, the buck never moved. 
Whether the animal was asleep or endeavoring to ' play 
possum,' could not be determined, of course. The gun 
was hastily inspected to find out what was the matter, as 
it had seldom before proved false, when it was discovered 
there was no powder in the pan. In order to make this 
intelligent to those readers who perhaps have never seen 
a flint-lock — "a back number" to this generation — let 
me explain : The ' pan ' was a small reservoir at the base 
of where the flint was intended to strike, and held about 
half a teaspoonf ul of powder ; the powder connected with 
the little tube which entered the gun-barrel, and ignited 
the charge. My father quickly seized the powder-horn 
swung over his shoulder by a string of buckskin, poured 
into the pan some of its contents, raised the weapon 
again, took an indifl'erent aim, as the buck's outline was 



PERILOUS ADVENTURE WITH A WOUNDED DEER 17 

only very dimly observable, so closely did he hug the 
ground, and fired. The old flint-lock quickly responded 
this time, but the deer did not stir. Father walked up to 
the beast, kicked it, and still it gave no signs of life. He 
saw at a glance that the ball had struck the animal in 
the neck, and felt in his pocket for the hunting-knife he 
usually carried, but, much to his regret, found he had left 
it at the house. His next dilemma was how to get the 
deer home. He was not long in deciding that matter. 
Taking the rope halter from his horse's neck, he tied a 
knot in the horse's bushy tail, fastened one end of the 
rope around the buck's horns and the other above the 
knot made in the pony's tail, mounted, and trotted off 
briskly, as he had made a bet with his sister-in-law that 
he would be back with a deer before she could bake the 
biscuit, which in those days were cooked in one of the 
old-fashioned ' Dutch ovens' ; (such things as stoves were 
not known in that part of the country.) 

" He was in a fair way of winning his wager by hurry- 
ing along at the best speed the pony could make with the 
load he was comj)elled to drag in such a novel way, but 
when he had reached about half-way, on looking back he 
saw to his horror that the deer was attempting to get on 
his feet, but that, fortunately, as often as he rose to his 
knees the horse would jerk him down again. The fact is, 
that the ball had only grazed the cervical vertebrae, or 
^creased'' him, as it is called in hunting parlance. This 
paralyzes all the muscles temporarily, and the animal is 
unable to exercise any power over them. (This was one 
of the methods employed in capturing wild horses at one 
time.) The friction caused by dragging him over the 
rough and snowy ground had partially restored the circu- 
lation, and he was rapidly getting into his normal condi- 
tion of physical strength. 

"Realizing the predicament he was in, my father ap- 
plied the whip to his now equally scared horse, and the 
latter fairly flew over the trail with his double burden, 
—2 • 



18 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

while the deer, continually gaining more and more power, 
was frantic in his endeavors to escape from his unique 
position. The great danger was, that the moment the 
pony should slacken his pace the buck would fight merci- 
lessly, throwing his immense antlers in every direction, 
probably impaling both horse and rider. 

"By this time the family at home were all up, and 
preparations for breakfast were rapidly progressing. My 
mother happened to look out of a window, and saw her 
husband approaching at an unusually fast gait. She 
rushed to the door, wondering what could be the incentive 
for pounding his horse in such a manner. Surely, the In- 
dians could not be after him; it was the wrong time of 
the year for any of the savages to be lurking in the vi- 
ciuity. Was it a panther? — one of those ferocious and 
dreaded beasts of the settlements which created such havoc 
among the young stock, and occasionally carried off a stray 
child. Could it be a pack of hungry wolves ? She was 
nonplussed for a moment, but soon her husband's voice 
came ringing clearly through the 'opening,' although he 
was still a quarter of a mile distant : 

' ' ' The butcher-knife 1 The butcher-knife ! This deer 's 
alive 1 ' 

" This appeal, repeated several times in such loud tones, 
showed that he was terribly excited and in danger. As 
he drew nearer, he gave vent more vociferously to his need 
of assistance : 

' ' ' The axe 1 The axe ! This deer 's alive 1 ' 

' ' My mother was young and very active then ; she im- 
mediately comprehended the situation my father was in, 
and having been reared on the border, she, like nearly all of 
her hardy class, knew nothing of that fear which attaches 
to those women who have lived in a pampered civilization 
in the thickly settled East. 

" Quickly snatching the butcher-knife from its accus- 
tomed place near the mantel-shelf, she ran to the gate, 
the pony arriving there with his living load at the same 



LINCOLN PLEADS HIS FATHER'S CAUSE 19 

instant, dashing against the fence in his excitement. 
Father received the knife from her hand as he rushed by. 
The pace of the horse was of course now slackened by 
coming in contact with the pickets, and in a moment the 
infuriated deer was on his feet. He made a desperate at- 
tempt to break away toward the timber, which nearly 
threw both horse and rider to the ground. Fortunately, 
close to the gate stood a heavy farm wagon loaded with 
wood, around which father whipped the pony, and in so 
doing jerked the deer's horns into one of the hind wheels, 
and, his momentum thus suddenly stopped, the animal 
slipped flat on his side, all sprawled out. In an instant 
mother (who was somewhat inclined to stoutness, weigh- 
ing nearly one hundred and sixty pounds, and very 
strong) was upon the animal, and held him down until 
father jumped off his pony, came around, and cut the 
animal's throat. 

"Hardly had he accomplished this last act of the 
tragedy, when a great outburst of childish laughter 
greeted his ears, and upon looking up, he saw his little 
three-year-old boy ( myself ) , who had slipped out of the 
house unnoticed, enjoying one of the most wonderful 
scenes it has ever been his fortune to witness, even dur- 
ing his own long and eventful career. 

" My father was of a firm disposition, and of a small, 
wiry build. He never hesitated to express his convic- 
tions, and was an earnest anti-slavery advocate. Once, 
when Stephen A. Douglas was a candidate for Congress- 
man-at-large, father was one of the judges of election, 
and became politically involved in an altercation with 
the acknowledged pugilist of the neighborhood. The fra- 
cas so terminated that he thought best to go before the 
magistrate, Edward Burtis, father of A. H. Burtis, now 
a successful Kansas politician. He paid his fine, and 
thought no more about it ; but the other man felt ag- 
grieved, and demanded a trial by a jury of his peers, in 
the district court, which was presided over by Judge 



20 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

David Davis, afterwards U. S. Senator. Father retained 
two attorneys, Ashley Gridley and Abraham Lincoln, to 
plead his cause. The fee agreed upon was ten dollars 
each. It is needless to add that it was well tried, and a 
verdict of acquittal returned. The amount was cheer- 
fully paid, and ever afterwards Mr. Lincoln and my fa- 
ther were cordial friends. No one mourned the lamented 
President more than did Noah Nicholas Jones." 

Col. Jones attributes a great deal of his inclination for 
hunting to just such scenes as that above mentioned. 
His brother John, two years his junior, has many of the 
same traits, but is a better marksman, especially with the 
shotgun ; though he has never killed so many animals as 
has the Colonel, not having had the opportunity. 

Although of a relatively delicate -looking physique, 
young Jones was the very incarnation of activity, nerve 
and muscle during those years passed on the original old 
homestead in Illinois. He possessed the spirit of emula- 
tion to such a degree, that he would never permit anyone 
of his age and size to outdo him in the labor assigned as 
his task. 

His early education was very much restricted, for, as 
among all pioneer civilization of the period of his youth, 
the "district school-house" was the conventional log 
building, utterly devoid of those appurtenances and edu- 
cational appliances which characterize our splendid sys- 
tem of to-day. There was no bell, no register, no maps, 
no blackboard ; in fact, nothing that could make the path 
in pursuit of knowledge an easy one. The benches were 
constructed of rude slabs, whose legs were rough sticks 
with the bark on. These were driven into auger-holes, 
their wedged ends protruding an inch or more, — a fruitful 
source of torn trousers, as anyone will remember who ever 
sat upon such instruments of youthful torture. 

Young Jones, however, was not a sufferer to any great 
extent, as his privilege to attend school was limited to 



CAPTURING A SQUIRREL 21 

two or three days in the week, and only then when the 
weather was too cold and stormy to work out of doors on 
the farm, in winter-time. 

His father soon became a very prosperous farmer, work- 
ing three or four extensive tracts in the neighborhood, 
acquired by hard work and economy, which, by the time 
his son Charles had arrived at the age of sixteen, it was his 
duty to superintend, with their hundreds of cattle, horses, 
sheep, and mules. This stupendous supervision was thrown 
almost entirely upon the shoulders of the boy — enough for 
two or three men. Long before this juncture, young Jones 
had developed a genius for taming animals. He always 
possessed a love for animated nature, and the power of 
subduing fractious beasts to his will. Naturally, he be- 
came an expert rider at a very early age, which has served 
him so admirably on the Great Plains in pursuit of the 
buffalo so closely connected with his name. 

One of the incidents of his boyhood life, he tells as 
follows : 

"When a mere lad about twelve years old, I was sent 
to the woods with the hired man to saw off logs. Snow 
was on the ground, and my father was to come with a 
sled in the afternoon and haul the logs to a mill about a 
mile away. While busily engaged sawing, I looked up 
into a tree and saw a fox-squirrel swinging on a limb. I 
dropped the saw, and followed the beautiful little animal. 
It was soon high in the branches, and I climbed u]) the 
tree and pressed the wise little fellow to the end of a 
limb, but it gave a spring and caught in the l)oughs of 
another tree. Not daring to emulate its method of trav- 
eling, I was compelled to descend to the ground, then 
climb up the other tree. The squirrel repeated its tac- 
tics and I mine, until the greater part of the day was 
gone. At last the little fellow took refuge in a hole, in a 
large burr-oak. When I reached the place, I thrust my 
left hand into the hole and grabbed the squirrel. The 
penalty was, that with his long sharp teeth he nearly cut 



22 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTUREB 

off the end of my finger. ( Ever since, it has been the 
unlucky member, and has so often been crippled that it 
is impossible to bend it. ) I held a firm grip until reach- 
ing the ground, then thrust it into my coat 'pocket, took 
some honey-locust thorns and pinned the pocket together. 

"Presently my father arrived, and finding no logs to 
load, demanded an explanation. The hired man ex- 
plained he could not run the saw alone, and Charley 
had been pursuing a squirrel most of the day. Then a 
boy about my size received a good thrashing, but he. man- 
aged to keep his caj) over the squirrel to protect it, pre- 
ferring to receive the blows himself. 

" I managed to get the squirrel home; finally had it 
quite tame, and it proved a comfort to me. One day I 
was sent to Bloomington, about twelve miles distant, to 
do some trading. I took Dick ( the name I had given the 
squirrel ) along, hoping to sell him for something, as I 
had made up my mind others could be caught if the sale 
was made. Dick perched upon my shoulder, and I walked 
the street for hours, asking all I met if they wanted 
to buy a pet, but they generally laughed, and said 'No.' 
Finally a well-dressed man hailed me, and wanted to know 
if I would sell the squirrel. I told him Dick was a great 
pet, but if I could get a fair price for him, would sell, and 
asked what he would give. He said he had a son about 
my age, a cripple, and he had never seen anything like a 
squirrel, and knew he would be delighted with it. Finally 
he offered me two dollars for Dick. It almost took my 
breath. I had not hoped to receive to exceed fifty cents, 
and would have been proud of twenty-five. I had never 
had but one " bit " ( twelve and one-half cents) in all my 
life, and two dollars appeared like a colossal fortune to 
me. It was that transaction which fixed upon me the 
ruling passion that has adhered so closely through life. 
From that time until this, I have never lost an opportu- 
nity in my power to capture every wild animal that runs 
on legs, as well as some that creep upon their bellies. 



HIS FACULTY FOR CONQUERING ANIMALS 23 

"Before a year rolled around, after receiving such a 
princely amount for little Dick, I had caged a good-sized 
menagerie, consisting of every animal that inhabited cen- 
tral Illinois ; had even captured rattlesnakes and ex- 
tracted their fangs. By this means I had all kinds of 
curios to sell when the shows came around, and thus real- 
ized many a precious dollar. 

"The capture of that little animal, Dick, molded the 
destiny of my whole life. It is the little things which 
govern the lives of the people of the world. The first 
money made by a child is never forgotten ; he is sure to 
try the same method again and again. And I am certain 
if that first two dollars had been made by dishonorable 
means, such as gambling, stealing, robbing, cheating, beg- 
ging, or blackmailing, the habit would have fastened itself 
as firmly upon me as did that of capturing wild animals." 

On the farm, if there was an obstreperous animal, 
either horse, mule, or ox, it was he alone who could con- 
quer it. He relates an incident of this character, which 
occurred when he was but thirteen years old. His father 
desired to have a pair of young steers yoked up, so as to 
break them for service at the plow; but they were so 
vicious that, after trying for half a day, assisted by two 
burly hired men, the old gentleman was compelled to 
abandon the job as impossible, — all badly worsted in their 
struggle with the ferocious beasts. Then his father and 
the men left, and went to a neighboring village, Hudson. 
At once young Charles started for the pasture into which 
the fractious steers had been turned. He succeeded in driv- 
ing them into the barnyard and then into the barn, where 
he threw a rope over the horns of one, and by skillful man- 
agement drew it up to a beam. He then laid a slip-noose 
in another rope, so as to get the steer's hind foot into 
it, when he hitched a steady old mule to the rope, who 
stretched the steer's leg out to its greatest tension. With 
another rope he anchored the stiffened leg to a brace oil 



24 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

the opposite side of the barn from where the animal's 
head was fastened. All the time that young Jones was 
thus manipulating, the old mule quietly held the steer in 
any position desired. The boy then took the yoke and 
bows ; one of the latter he keyed tightly on the animal's 
neck he had in durance, and then served his mate in the 
same manner, until they were both so bound together it 
was impossible for them to unyoke themselves. He then 
opened the double folding doors and cut the ropes that 
held them so tightly, when they darted into the barn- 
yard. 

When his father returned in the early evening he was 
dumbfounded to see the steers yoked up, standing in the 
yard. He became quite vexed when he discovered that 
Charley had accomplished all alone what he and two men 
had failed in. The fact was, that after finding that the 
steers were perfectly unmanageable, he sold them to a 
butcher while down in the village that afternoon. The 
next day was occupied in endeavoring to free the oxen 
from the yoke. They were so wild and vicious that the 
bows had actually to be sawed from their necks ; the con- 
sequence of which was, the boy received a good thrashing 
with the ox-goad for the trouble he had caused. 

The great majority of boys of his then age delight in 
marbles, kites, base-ball, and kindred games; but young 
Jones was the rare exception to all this. He shunned the 
crowd of boys who usually congregate in the rural dis- 
tricts, much preferring to be by himself, free to ramble 
alone through the timber or fields, where he could indulge 
in his love of nature untrammeled by any uncongenial com- 
panions. Birds and animals, whether squirrels, bear, or 
deer, were his special loves. These he would catch at 
every opportunity, and tame them in his own peculiar 
way. Capturing animals was his ruling passion. The 
more restrictions thrown around him by his parents, the 
more he became attached to his favorite amusement. 

He declares that he was unquestionably the most sleepy- 



BLEEPING AT NIGHT IN THE FIELD 25 

headed boy that ever existed . It made no difference whether 
he retired as soon as supper was disposed of — it was just as 
difficult to awaken him in the morning as if he had gone 
to bed at midnight. At times, in order to awaken him, it 
was necessary to actually roll him out on the floor and 
pour cold water into his ears. This exceedingly disagree- 
able condition lasted until he reached his sixteenth year, 
at which time he fortunately outgrew it. 

At one time, when only nine, he was sent to a distant 
field all alone to pull weeds out of the corn-rows. When 
he reached the farthest point from the house, a young 
quail in an adjoining oat-field suddenly commenced to 
whistle for its mother. Instantly the boy darted over 
there, and secreting himself in the tall grain, answered the 
bird's call several times, but before the fledgling could 
come in response to the counterfeited mother, Charles was 
sound asleep. 

At home every preparation for supper had been com- 
pleted; the men were called out of the fields, and when 
they sat down at the table there was " one vacant chair," 
'■ Why, where 's Charley ? " was the anxious inquiry. '• I 
don't know," all responded, with the exception of one 
gruff old Yankee, who exclaimed, "Oh, he 's out some- 
where watching a gopher-hole, trying to get him for a 
pet." But this did not allay the anxiety of an affec- 
tionate mother, who immediately abandoned her place at 
the teapot, went to the door, and in an earnest, ringing 
voice called her missing child. But no response came 
f^choing over the prairie, which was covered with the 
shadows of night, for the sun had long since set; and the 
boy's absence began to be a serious matter, particularly 
to the loving mother, whose countenance unmistakably 
indicated her solicitude. The hired men then mounted 
horses ; the mother, the female help and all of the chil- 
dren were running in every direction, calling, calling, but 
calling in vain ; only the echoes of their own voices re- 
verberated on the calm night air, or the gradually fading 



26 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

sounds of the father and the men as they receded in the 
distance. Every row of corn was carefully scrutinized, for 
all knew he had been sent there. Every nook and corner 
where it Avas believed possible for him to have gone, was 
thoroughly searched. Then lanterns and torches were 
hastily procured, the neighbors notified, and the search 
for the lost boy became a neighborhood affair. This was 
a common thing in those early days on the border; it 
was necessary for mutual protection, and in a case of this 
kind prom])tness was essential, for the country was still 
infested with panthers and wolves : so no wonder the 
mother of young Jones was nearly distracted when mid- 
night arrived, and no word of her boy. 

About one o'clock, as one of the hired men was riding 
rapidly through the oat-field, his horse made a tremen- 
dous lunge, evidently frightened at something; upon 
which the man dismounted, and to his astonishment and 
delight saw the missing Charley, .sound asleep, — dream- 
ing, probably, of the motherless little bird he had set hia 
heart upon capturing. 

Then a shout was set up, and a cheer which all under- 
stood, from its tone, to mean that the ])oy had been found 
alive and uninjured. A crowd soon gathered around the 
place where he was found, and the naughty boy, like a 
successful gladiator of old, was borne triumphantly away 
to the arms of his mother, who so anxiously awaited his 
coming. 

When Col. Jones had attained his majority, he began 
to realize he had passed the greater portion of his years in 
very hard work, like a dutiful son, for the interests of the 
family. He had been obedient to his father, — so there 
were no regrets in filial obligations ; but he also realized 
his education had been sadly neglected. Then he deter- 
mined, now he was released from any further demands on 
his time, to in a measure rectify the misfortune of the 
want of early schooling, so far as it was possible at this 
late day. Having thus determined, under the prompt- 



AN EFFORT AT COLLEGE 27 

ings of his iron will, (and a little black-eyed girl who no 
doubt rather liked the awkward chap, yet was ashamed of 
his ignorance,) he packed up his limited quantity of ef- 
fects, walked to the railroad station, three miles distant, 
and took the train for Bloomington. Arriving in that 
flourishing town, he applied for entrance at the Wesleyan 
University, located there, for one term at least, in v/hich 
he was successful. 

At this institution of learning Col. Jones studied dili- 
gently and earnestly for two years, at the end of which 
period, in consequence of his close application, he was 
stricken down with typhoid fever, which affected his eyes 
very seriously, and he was compelled to abandon his stud- 
ies and turn to other vocations. Among his classmates at 
the University was Joseph W. Fifer, since Governor of Il- 
linois, and many other men who have risen to distinction 
in the domain of politics, law, and literature. 

Although obliged to abandon his attempt to acquire an 
education, he had no idea of sitting supinely at the fam- 
ily hearthstone and grieving over his misfortune, but, 
prompted again b}^ his indomitable will, he notified his 
father he intended to start out in the world to seek his 
own fortune. Of course the father, to whom he had been 
such a dutiful son, was grieved to learn of his determina- 
tion to leave the old home, and made several favorable 
overtures to persuade his boy to remain with him. Among 
these was the offer of a gift of one of the best farms of 
which he was possessed, well stocked with cattle, imple- 
ments of the most approved pattern, and everything ready 
to commence operations on a large scale. But the young 
man refused all, determined to seek the "Far West" be- 
yond the Missouri river, to which comparatively iinknown 
region he had been attracted by reading its tales of adven- 
ture and hairbreadth escapes, ever since he was old enough 
to master words of three syllables. He felt sure that in 
that remote region he could accumulate wild animals to his 
heart's content, and^never lost courage in that direction. 



28 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

One beautiful morning he packed his little valise, shook 
hands with his father, kissed his mother and baby sister 
good-by, and was soon speeding westward over the prai- 
ries, full of determination to succeed, and with energy to 
carry out whatever enterprise he might attempt. He first 
stopped at St. Joseph, Mo. This was early in 1866, just 
after the close of the great Civil War. Here he remained 
a few days, and then started for the wilds of the new 
State of Kansas. He settled in Troy, Doniphan county, 
where, having managed to secure a large amount of Osage 
orange seed, he started a nursery for the growth of hedge 
plants and every variety of fruit trees. In 1867 the lo- 
custs, or grasshoppers as they were erroneously called, 
visited the State in countless swarms, darkening the air, 
and in the short space of twenty-four hours every vestige 
of the nursery had disappeared, except the bare poles of 
what had been trees; and within a week they stripped 
them of their bark, completing absolute ruin. This dis- 
astrous raid did not discourage the indomitable Jones, 
however. "Try again" has ever been his motto, and in 
accordance with its precepts, during the winter he grafted 
more than 50,000 trees, grapevines, and other varieties of 
fruit. With the opening spring came the grasshoppers 
again, and devoured a larger portion of his year's labor; 
yet by hard work he saved and sold enough to enable him 
to purchase a small farm of twenty acres, upon which he 
built a comfortable dwelling, and outhouses to carry on 
his business. In the year 1869 Col. Jones was married 
to Martha J. Walton, the daughter of a highly respected 
farmer, formerly of Laporte, Indiana. Mr. Jones's rela- 
tions with his estimable wife have ever been of that char- 
acter which proves that " marriage is not a failure." 

The only trouble he experienced was when he would 
leave home to capture wild animals, to which his wife 
always objected. Nothing to her appeared so much like 
a phantom. Her fretting was always of short duration, 
however, for he was careful to refrain from talking in re- 



wife's presentiments of danger 29^ 

lation to his starting on an expedition until about ready- 
to leave, and then only in a vague sort of way. Every 
time he did go she always protested with increasing 
earnestness, declaring she had a presentiment that "that 
would be his last trip." She felt certain that some cow, 
robbed of her offspring by him, would gore him to death 
in the niost shocking manner, far away from civilization, 
and his body left to bleach on the desert ; or that some 
hostile band of bloodthirsty savages would capture him 
and put him to unnameable torture; Indians, Eskimos 
or wolves would overpower him ; a rattlesnake might bite 
him; he might die of cold, thirst, or hunger. A thou- 
sand deaths of horrid character continually pictured 
themselves to the wife, who was relieved of this mental 
torture only when her husband returned safely home. 
His declarations of the wonderful results if successful in 
his dangerous work — fame, wealth, honor — were but as 
ashes to her mental lips. 



CHAPTER III 

" WESTWARD HO ! " 

bound for the wild west in a prairie schooner — mrs. 
Jones's first experience camping on the prairie — 
wolves cut lariat and team escapes — recaptured 
under difficulties — joyous greeting- on return to 

CAMP 

LATE in the fall of 1871 Col. Jones left his home in 
Troy, Kansas, on horseback, to seek a place where 
■^ more game and cheaper land could be obtained. 
Having business in Marysville, in the same State, 
he was delayed there until midwinter. The terrific storms 
which prevailed did not daunt him, however, in his pur- 
pose; he is made of "sterner stuff." A prevailing char- 
acteristic of his whole life is his determination to carry 
out to the end any enterprise, no matter how difficult, or 
what obstacles may present themselves. 

On the first of January, 1872, he again saddled his 
horse and j^ressed forward to the west until he found 
himself about two hundred miles from home, near the 
center of what is now Osborne county, on the south fork 
of the Solomon river. There he discovered a most excel- 
lent tract of vacant Government land, on which was an 
abundance of water and some timber. This he entered, 
and was soon the proud possessor of one hundred and 
sixty acres of rich, fertile soil, almost in the center of 
the buffalo range. All of the preliminaries necessary, 
required by the United States land laws, having been con- 

(30) 



BOUND FOR THE WILD WEST 31 

eluded, to hold the land, he returned to his old home on 
the same means of transportation, his tough and faithful 
horse. 

Arriving at Troy, he arranged his financial affairs, and 
the following April loaded his worldly goods into a large 
wagon, in which, accompanied by his wife and only child, 
he left all his old associations, the comforts of civiliza- 
tion and friends, for his claim on the remote plains of 
western Kansas. This was a severe undertaking, espe- 
cially for his young wife, who had been reared amidst 
the luxuries of an Eastern community; but like all our 
pioneer American women, she cheerfully followed the for- 
tunes of her brave husband, accepting whatever of hard- 
ship might befall. None excepting those who have had a 
like experience can conceive what such a sacrifice means ; 
what privations must be endured ; what disadvantages 
must be contended with, and what suffering is the por- 
tion of the women who have built up the civilization of 
the mid-continent. 

On the night of the sixth day the precious freight of 
that lone wagon was to sleep on the ground, having left 
the last cabin on the "trail" far behind. The darkness 
and awful silence were oppressive ; the latter broken only 
at long intervals, by the occasional neighing of the horses 
at the end of their picket-ropes, the flapping of the wagon- 
cover in the fitful gusts of wind, or the dismal cry of a 
hungry wolf in the rocky ravines. 

At the first streak of dawn a terrible howling and yell- 
ing resounded upon the early morning air, apparently not 
a hundred yards distant from camp, caused by a pack of 
persistent coyotes that were patiently waiting for the 
wagon to move on, that they might feast upon the scrajis 
left from the meals of the "movers " — fighting and snarl- 
ing meanwhile among themselves, until the time should 
arrive when they might take possession of the abandoned 
place, too cowardly to approach nearer while the camp 
was occupied. Col. Jones of course paid no attention to 



32 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

such an occurrence: he was familiar with the nature of 
the animals which were making the disturbance ; but to 
■his gentle wife the unusual noise, so foreign to her del- 
icate ears, was a source of torture, and her sleep was con- 
tinually disturbed. 

With the daylight the curious sounds ended, but the 
long, lank, wistful brutes could be seen sitting on their 
haunches, watching every movement in camp, licking 
their chops in eager expectancy of the meager feast that 
awaited them. 

At the moment the red flush in the east betokened the 
approaching day, Mr. Jones was out of his blankets, and 
his first thought was of his horses. To his astonishment 
and discomfiture, the wolves had gnawed in twain the 
lariat with which they were tied, and the animals were 
nowhere to be seen. Mr. Jones ran back a mile or more 
on the "trail," until he reached the crest of the divide 
which encompassed a view of the country for a long dis- 
tance to the eastward ; but his horses were not in sight, 
even from that vantage-point. Their tracks, however, were 
plainly visible in the dust of the desert, turned toward 
their old home. He thought of the dilemma in which he 
was placed, and of what Mrs. Jones would say when she 
learned of the unfortunate occurrence. He was not at all 
certain whether they would be recovered within a dis- 
tance of ten, or fifty miles, or whether they were irrecov- 
erably lost, as prowling bands of Indians were in the 
country, besides many horse-thieves. 

He knew that he could not conscientiously keep the facts 
from his wife, and go in search of them, so he hastened 
back to the wagon and communicated the direful news. 

" What shall we do? " was naturally her first inquiry. 
" I '11 go and get them," he replied. " I '11 go with you," 
was Mrs. Jones's quick rejoinder. He knew that was im- 
possible, and persuaded her that it was better to remain 
with the wagon until he made a thorough search, prom- 
ising his anxious wife to return before night in any event. 



HUNTING FOE THE LOST HORSES. 33 

This was an hour when the courage of any woman would 
have been severely strained, and Mrs. Jones was sorely 
tried. She could do nothing but seat herself upon the 
highest box on the wagon, with her child (a boy only one 
year old ) in her arms, and watch through the weary hours 
which must necessarily elapse before it was possible for 
her husband to return. Thus she wearily sat, looking 
earnestly in the same direction, as Daniel of old, until 
deliverance came. 

Col. Jones was fleet-footed, courageous, and endowed 
with wonderful powers of endurance; so he started, full 
of hope, with his rope and hat in hand, coat off, after the 
renegade team, while his wife watched his form as it flitted 
like a flying shadow, over hills, across valleys, and through 
the deep ravines, until the high divide had taken him be- 
yond the range of her vision. 

Mile after mile was rapidly left in his rear ; the hours 
rolled on apace, and the sun indicated the time to be 
nearly noon ; still the tracks of the missing animals could 
be distinctly seen ever pointing eastwardly. It was be- 
coming a serious matter to their intrepid pursuer ; he was 
far from his camp ; could with mental vision see his pa- 
tient wife straining her eyes in the direction he had gone, 
in expectancy of his speedy return. He now realized that 
night would be upon him before he was aware of it, and 
that he must soon retrace his steps in order to be back at 
the wagon, horses or no horses. He felt assured, too, that it 
would be impossible for him to keep up his rate of speed, 
and that he must slacken his gait. He resolved, however, 
to continue on for another hour, at which time he would 
abandon the chase and return to camp, if the horses were 
not then to be seen. 

While he was ambling down a long hill on a run, pon- 
dering upon his embarrassing situation, he passed around 
a short curve in his course, where, to his surprise and de- 
light, he discovered the recreant animals within a stone's- 
throw. One of them stood perfectly still, with ears erect, 
— 3 



34 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

listening to the noise their owner had made coming down 
the hill, and the other was deliberately moving towards 
him to learn the cause. As soon, however, as they saw it 
was their master on the run after them, they threw up 
their heads and tails and were off again, as on the wings 
of the wind, keeping up their rapid gait as far as the eye 
could see, — for the shelter of the trees soon obscured 
them. 

Many people at such an unfortunate juncture would 
have given up in despair; not so, however, with a man 
constituted as is Col. Jones. He was rejoiced at seeing 
his animals again, notwithstanding they had fled at his 
approach, and knew that his strategy, learned by a long 
and varied experience, would enable him to circumvent 
any apparently hopeless chance on the part of mere brute 
intelligence. He cogitated for a moment; remembered 
that the trail made a long curve to the south, and then 
turned northward again. So he started northward, and 
went down into the valley at the greatest speed he could 
command, determined to reach the trail before the fright- 
ened horses could possibly arrive there. When he came 
to the creek which flows through the valley, he found it 
quite deep, and about ten feet wide. Although an excel- 
lent swimmer, he did not care to plunge into the cold 
water, saturated as he was with perspiration. There were 
many small trees growing along the margin of the stream, 
and he was not a moment in making up his mind what to 
do under the circumstances. Selecting a withy sapling 
about twenty feet high, hanging towards the opposite 
shore, he sprang into it, climbed nearly to its top, where 
his weight bent it over towards the other side of the 
water, at which instant he sprang from his perch. His 
calculation had been correct, and he landed with but 
little room to spare. All this was effected in less time 
than it requires to read it, and he continued on his way 
as rapidly as his strength would permit, for it was half 
a mile before he could reach the trail, on which the 



RECAPTURED UNDER DIFFICULTIES 35 

horses were surely approaching, and he must arrive at a 
certain point before them or his strategy would fail. 

He shortly reached a little divide which parallels the 
•creek, and from its crest saw the animals walking briskly 
almost opposite him. It was too late to carry out the 
I)lan he had formulated. If he ran out to head them off, 
it would only result in frightening them, undoubtedly 
cause them to stampede again, and all his trouble would 
have been in vain. He then changed his tactics to meet 
the emergency which had occurred. Quickly taking in 
the altered condition of affairs, with that perspicacity 
which characterizes the old plainsman, he rushed down 
the divide and up the creek for about half a mile, to a 
point where a small ravine enters it. He followed the 
tortuous windings of this ravine for nearly a mile, then 
crossed the little divide separating him from the other 
ravine, up which the horses were slowly coming, arriving 
at the trail in a very favorable spot, with relatively high 
embankments on either side. Now came the final strug- 
gle. Had the animals yet passed out ? Fortunately not. 
He could discover no marks of their hoofs ; all was well so 
far. His rope was hidden behind him, and the now anx- 
ious pursuer was compelled to be very cautious. He wan- 
dered slowly back on the trail, loudly singing one of his 
favorite tunes, fearing that if he came suddenly upon the 
animals in such a sequestered place without some sort of 
warning, they would take to flight in another direction. 
This strategy lasted but a moment, and he was not by 
any means too soon, for the horses suddenly appeared 
upon the trail right in front of him. He sauntered along 
carelessly toward the now interested animals, who pricked 
up their ears as they stood perfectly passive, seemingly 
recognizing their master's voice. Instead of attempting 
to rush off again, they deliberately walked up to him, 
apparently as much pleased to see him as he to meet 
them under such favorable circumstances. 

The thing was done, and well done, thought the Colonel 



86 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

as he mounted one, fastened the rope around the neck of 
the other, and started on his return to camp. It was now 
the middle of the afternoon, and he was at least twenty- 
five miles from the wagon, so he wasted no time on the 
return trip. He made the horses atone for the trouble 
they had given him, by pushing them at the top of their 
speed, realizing it would not hurt them, as he intended to 
remain in camp another twelve hours, which would give 
them ample rest for their journey on the following day. 
They seemed to acknowledge that they had committed a 
grievous offense, by willingly doing their utmost to reach 
camp without any persuasion, — and away they traveled 
at the rate of twelve miles an hour towards the goal which 
he was so anxious to gain before the night set in. 

It was long before sundown when he reached the high 
divide from which he could see Mrs. Jones still sitting on 
the same old box. Of course she could see him also, and 
signals were quickly exchanged which settled the question 
of identity, and a great load was lifted from her heart, 

The reader, although he may never have experienced an 
incident exactly similar to that of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, 
can imagine the mutual joy of such a meeting, under the 
peculiar circumstances attending it. Col. Jones was no 
more a hero than his estimable, patient wife was a hero- 
ine. In her anxiety, though, she had absolutely forgotten 
that her worn-out husband had left at the earliest dawn 
without having eaten a morsel of food; had walked and 
run a quarter of a hundred miles, and ridden bareback 
the same distance, and must necessarily be in a famishing 
condition. He was almost exhausted ; asked for a cup of 
cold coffee, upon which she realized her forgetfulness. 
But never was a meal cooked by an unaccustomed camp- 
fire with such dispatch as that prepared for him on this 
occasion. He sat down, and realized that his wife was 
the very best cook in the world. 



CHAPTER IV 

DESPERADOES 

FARMING IN THE FAE WEST — A FRUITLESS BUFFALO-HUNT 
— LIVING ON BREAD AND NO WATER — MIRAGE INTENSI- 
FIED BY PROSTRATION — BUFFALO RUN HIGH IN THE AIR 

DESPERADOES IN CAMP " IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO 

SAY, SAY IT D — D QUICK, FOR I AM GOING TO KILL YOU 
RIGHT here" — RESCUED BY A PLUCKY BOY 

IN the summer of 1872 I was an embryo farmer on 
the new raw prairies of western Kansas, which re- 
gion just then ))egan to attract immigrants on ac- 
count of its superiority of soil and climate. I had 
been a successful l)uffalohunter, had killed thousands 
simply for their hides, but the idea of my buffalo-rescu- 
ing project was but a creature of the brain, not yet per- 
fectly formulated ; yet that was the year I determined to 
' some sweet day ' capture a herd, domesticate and per- 
petuate the species. I captured a1)out a dozen that year, 
sold them for seven dollars and a half each, and was de- 
lighted to receive even that nnich. After I had finished 
my corn-plowing (it was in the early part of August), I 
determined to go on a hunt, as the week previously I had 
learned of the main herd of buffalo about sixty miles west 
of where I had staked out my Government claim. 

"Although an experienced hunter, I had not given so 
much attention to the halnts of the buffalo as I have dur- 
ing the past quarter of a century. No doubt it was my 
lack of buffalo lore, which allowed me to imagine I could 
any time within the next week go where the herd was re- 

• (37) 



88 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

ported to have been seen, and find it there still. I took 
an abundance of time to make my preparation, and em- 
ployed a young man, a neighbor, to go with me. The day 
before I left, two strangers came along, who declared they 
desired to secure work in our section of the country, at 
anything. I informed them that all the buffalo-hunters 
were out after hides, which was the principal employment 
of the few people who lived in the region, and they could 
undoubtedly get a job of skinning, if they were able to 
find an outfit going to the range. I was besieged to let 
them go with me ; they promised to help about the camp 
and skin buffaloes until they were able to find regular 
work. I finally took pity on the miserable tramps, and 
consented. 

"The next morning we rolled out on our journey in 
search of the great herd I had heard of. Two days of 
travel without any incident worth recalling, brought us 
to where we certainly expected to find game, Imt not a sin- 
gle buffalo could we see in any directicm. I had provided 
the outfit with three days' rations of meat, plenty of flour 
for two months, together with other necessary sundries. 

"Our meat was soon gone; the fourth and fifth days 
passed, and still not a sign of any game; nor were there 
hunting parties to be seen anywhere, from which we might 
have replenished our stock of provisions, or at least our 
meat rations. 

' ' We had now been living two days on bread and butter 
alone; the butter was all consumed on the night of the 
fifth day — the dry bread must serve us until we could kill 
a buffalo. This condition of things continued until the 
morning of the sixth day, when we rose very early, ate a 
piece of bread, drank some water, and then started off on 
the buffalo trail to the northwest, where the great herd 
had passed a week previously. Noon came, but nothing 
in the shape of game appeared, and we had no water. The 
sun poured its rays down upon our defenseless heads, as 
only those who have experienced a summer day on the 



DECEPTIVE PEANK8 OF MIRAGE 39 

Plains can imagine. It was intolerably hot, and the de- 
ceptive mirage played its curious pranks with the broiling 
landscape, by forming the most beautiful lakes, running, 
over with the clearest water imaginable, while their shores 
were fringed with the shadiest, tallest, and most luxuriant 
timber; Init as we approached the seductive spots, they 
would vanish like ' castles in the air.' 

"At one time, as the wagon was moving slowly along, I 
was half a mile to the left, and on the border of a prairie- 
dog village. Here I determined to kill some of the ro- 
dents, to make soup, and was preparing to execute my 
plans, when on looking toward the team I saw a beautiful 
pool of water, and really believed it to be such, for I rea- 
soned thus : ' It cannot be a mirage ; it is certainly water, 
because I can see the reflection of the team, the wagon 
and its occupants, in the little lake. I am satisfied it is 
clear, cold water, and I will hasten and quench my intol- 
erable thirst, for my tongue is actually swollen ; I cannot 
endure the suffering much longer, as I have not had a 
drop since long before sunrise, and it is now past the mid- 
dle of the afternoon.' I walked swiftly towards the pond, 
but on approaching with every nerve at its utmost tension, 
it vanished, as had the others, and my disappointment 
was sore, as may be imagined. 

"In a short time we arrived at the bank of a dry ra- 
vine, or ' arroyo ' as the Mexicans call these breaks in the 
surface of the prairie, and ordering the men to go down 
on the south side with the team, I told them I would goto 
the valley on the north and try to find water. The stran- 
gers had been riding all day, and I suggested to them they 
had better walk awhile to lighten up the load, as the horses 
were becoming rapidly exhausted and had been traveling 
rapidly all day without water. One of the men in an in- 
solent manner said : ' We did not agree to make this trip 
on foot, and don't propose to wear ourselves out, — we can 
do better. Besides, you are a d — d' fool to go down this 
dry ravine. Why don't you keep on to the northwest ? ' 



40. FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

" This was a ' stinger ' to me in my helpless condition, 
as I had only the lad whom I had brought from home, 
and immediately realized that they were desperate char- 
acters and no doubt had formulated some plan to take 
my outfit, as their actions for the past day or two con- 
vinced me they were nothing more or less than desperadoes. 
My attention from that time on was given to formulating 
some scheme to circumvent them. I made no reply to 
their insolent question, but ordered the boy to drive 
down the ravine as I had suggested, and to keep in the 
little valley. Four o'clock arrived, and matters were 
assuming a serious phase : the hot, dry wind was with- 
ering everything, — even my very flesh seemed to be 
shrinking; my tongue was parched and swollen, while 
my eyes I could scarcely trust to be right or wrong. I 
could see lakes and groves ; the trees appeared to be ap- 
proaching, but proved to be only small weeds, while the 
lakes, too, were merely optical illusions. 

"While in this really precarious condition physically, 
as I staggered along, I heard a rum^Dling sound, and look- 
ing to the north I saw very distinctly six buffalo high up 
in the air, about ten times larger than usual, and about 
five hundred feet above the ground, running in space, 
coming directly towards me. I at once dropped on my 
left knee, ready to shoot, but could not catch a 'bead' 
on them, as they danced around in every direction. 
Nearer and nearer they came, until I could hear the rat- 
tling of their hoofs ; they must have been within forty 
yards of me, when I heard them give a great snort, as 
they turned quickly eastward and bolted around me. 
They sailed through the air with their legs making regu- 
lar motions, as though they were running on the earth, 
yet to me they appeared circling high above, and soon 
disappeared from my view. I was really glad when the 
strange vision was ended ; it was certainly a relief, for it 
appeared to me that I had lost my reasoning faculties, 
and my doom was at hand. 



MIRAGE INTENSIFIED BY PROSTRATION 41 

"I felt myself perfectly conscious, and realized my sit- 
uation ; there were my gun, my cartridges, and everything 
near me in their normal state. I could scarcely believe 
that a mirage would delude me to the extent described, 
but that is just what it was. The fact is, the buffalo 
passed so near I heard them puff and snort, and no doubt 
could have hit them with a stone had I been able to prop- 
erly locate their true position. My power of sight being 
somewhat paralyzed from intense thirst and exhaustion, 
the mirage was intensified in its deception to my nervous 
system. 

" I managed to struggle on until I reached the wagon, 
where, under shade of its cover, I rode awhile to recruit 
my failing strength. By the time I had gained somewhat 
of my normal faculties and power it was nearly sundown, 
and the shades of evening helped to brace me up. All of 
us, including the team, were in a really deplorable condi- 
tion. I finally saw, while gazing around in search of suc- 
cor, an object ahead which appeared to be a tree reaching 
to the sky. But the atmospheric conditions were still 
playing tricks with me, and consequently I did not dare 
to decide what it really was that I had seen, — for I had 
been fooled so often that day I could no longer believe 
my own eyes. I had lost confidence in myself, and it did 
not return until the sun had gone down. What had been 
magnified so greatly, instead of being a gigantic tree was 
in reality a small box-elder bush about eight feet high. 
This, however, was encouraging, proving that we were cer- 
tainly making progress. 

" We soon discovered a clump of trees or bushes ahead, 
which also had an inspiring effect upon our almost worn- 
out natures, because these objects were indications that 
moist ground existed there, and that was what we so much 
needed, for it would indicate that water was near the 
surface, at any rate. But unfortunately we were still 
doomed to sore disappointment, for there was none of the 
precious fluid in the immediate vicinity. We continued 
• 



42 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

on our weary journey until darkness set in. If I had 
been alone, I should have felt fairly comfortable, but the 
two tramps, genuine toughs, had changed into almost 
raving maniacs, they were so completely overcome by 
thirst. I did the best I could ; assured them that water 
was certainly near, adjuring them to be a little patient, 
as I was sure we would strike it by keeping down the 
ravine, which had now become pretty well dotted with 
trees. I went out to search for water; took a spade from 
the side of the wagon, and commenced to dig in the sand 
which formed the bed of the creek. I found it moist, but 
could not squeeze out any water ; but by putting a few of 
the damp pebbles in our mouths, it temporarily relieved 
our feverish and parched throats. Again we wandered 
down the ravine, which was becoming more densely lined 
with Cottonwood, ash, and box-elder, and presently came 
to a ' drift ' caused by a relatively large tree which had 
blown down and was lying across the bed of the ravine 
(or creek, at certain times of the year). The water had 
washed out a deep channel under the debris of the logs, 
but not a drop remained ; all had l^een evaporated under 
the influence of the intensely hot weather. I again com- 
menced to excavate, this time in the deepest place that 
had washed out, for I was sure water must be close to the 
surface. Sure enough I I struck it, but it was so thick 
with quicksand that it caved in as fast as I could throw 
it out. Yet I knew that by a little persevemnce we would 
all be supplied and saved from a horrid death. Presently 
we heard the report of a rifle coming from the direction 
of down-stream, not more than a half-mile away, and I 
quickly abandoned operations with the spade. 

"We all started for the point from whence came the 
joyful sound, and a welcome sight caught our eyes, — a 
hunter's camp and a well of water in the sand. It was 
full of the delicious, pure cold beverage, which we rel- 
ished as mortals never did before or since. They had, be- 
sides, an abundance of fine fat buffalo-meat, of which 



SUPPER IN THE HUNTERS' CAMP 43 

they invited us to partake freely, as is the custom on the 
Plains. We soon had an oven of Ijiscuits under way, and 
by the time coffee was ready we sat down to a most boun- 
tiful meal which we so needed to revive our weakened 
bodies. 

" The ))utfalo-meat was from a young animal — tender, 
and with an abundance of rich tallow we made a gravy 
that seemed infinitely superior to the sweetest butter. 
What a change comes over the hungry hunter when his 
appetite (which is the best sauce) is appeased ! His whole 
nature is full of unselfishness, and his heart goes out to 
the lowliest with a full measure of brotherly love; he is 
then involuntarily a Christian, in the most rigid accept- 
ance of the term. 

' ' I was informed by these generous men that the main 
herd was about twenty miles north, a few buffalo having 
been in the vicinity of the camp that afternoon. Al- 
though the wants of my physical nature had been abun- 
dantly supplied, I was mentally discouraged that nightj 
and slept but little; for, now familiar with the character 
of the men I had foolishly brought with me, I felt it 
would be imprudent to allow them to go farther in my 
company. I endeavored to persuade them to stay with the 
gentlemen that had so kindly entertained us, who had ex- 
pressed a wilhngness to employ them in skinning buffalo; 
and that if a reasonable number were secured, something 
besides their board would be paid. This did not satisfy 
the two tram2:)s. They insisted that they were to stay with 
me until I found them a paying job — which was false. 
So I determined to abandon the hunt and the next morn- 
ing start for home, one hundred and fifty miles distant. 
Breakfast disposed of early, I informed the men that I 
had all the hunt I cared for, and intended to leave at once 
for home. This change in the plans they strenuously ob- 
jected to. I made all sorts of excuses for so doing, and at 
last told them in a most decided manner that I was cer- 
tainly going. 



44 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

"After breakfast, on looking around we saw a large buf- 
falo about a mile farther down the ravine, standing near 
a high bank. The strangers wanted to go and shoot it. 
I consented, and they started off with my Henry rifle and 
an old musket belonging to themselves, while the boy and 
I hitched up the horses and pulled down the stream about 
half a mile, to the south of the high bank where the l)uf- 
falo had been seen ; but we could discover nothing of him 
or the men. I repeatedly fired my gun and called aloud 
several times, but received no response. On looking to- 
wards the south in the direction we intended to travel, I 
saw two objects a mile or so away. Supposing them to 
be the men we were looking for, I turned the team and 
headed in that direction. The Solomon river was about 
forty miles to the south, and we expected to make it for 
our camping-ground that night. We kept watch of the 
two objects until about noon, when they disappeared. We 
supposed they had entered the ravine and continued the 
journey southward, yet thought it very strange, indeed, 
that these men should be so anxious to travel on foot, as 
they had been so averse to that method of locomotion the 
day previous. 

" I was very much worried, and thought they could not 
have been our men or they would have waited until over- 
taken. Could it be possible they had stolen my rifle, and 
' skipped ' purposely ? or what was the trouble ? I drove 
on slowly until nearly night, when we arrived at the river 
and went into camp, about a hundred yards from an out- 
fit of five men, who had also been on a hunt. 

"After supper, as the boy and I were talking over the 
mysterious disappearance of the two strangers, we were 
very much surprised to see them suddenly emerge from 
under a bush, not twenty feet from where we sat. The 
largest one walked straight up to me with my rifle in his 
hands, and said: 'Old chap, you are my meat now. If 
you have anything to say, say it d — d quick, as I am 
going to kill you right here ! ' My other gun was in the 



TEOUBLE WITH THE DESPERADOES 45 

wagon, and m}- revolver lying on a bundle just out of 
reach. He stood within ten feet of me, with the gun 
pointing straight at my heart, his finger on the trigger. 
I knew the least pressure on it by him would settle me 
for all time, as I always shot with a hair-trigger ; besides, 
it was my favorite weapon for close quarters, and carried 
thirteen cartridges in the magazine. I had already risen 
to my feet, and was intending to arrange supper for them 
as soon as I saw them. So I merely turned my face di- 
rectly towards them, and very calmly said: 'Shoot, if 
you think best, but as God is my judge, I have done you 
no intentional injury.' At the same instant the boy 
sprang directly between us, and shouted, with his hand 
up : ' I swear that Colonel is innocent of leaving you ; I 
am more to blame than he, as I urged him to come on, 
believing you were ahead.' 

' ' By this time the men in the other camp heard the 
maniacs in their fury, and one of them called out, ' What 's 
the racket over there ? ' I responded, ' Come over and ar- 
bitrate this difficulty.' Three of the men came at once, 
but the crazy fool stood with my gun in his hand, jabber- 
ing all kinds of nonsense, refusing to listen to anything; 
but he had no ' tenderfeet ' to deal with. One of the men 
walked straight up to him and took the gun out of his 
hands, without any resistance whatever. 

"I explained the situation to the man; that we saw 
the two objects referred to, and believed with all our 
souls it was the two men preceding us. They claimed 
that while creeping up on a buffalo bull, I fired the gun 
to scare him away ; that they followed him quite a ways, 
but could not get a shot. Then they came back and saw 
us about four miles away, upon which they fired their 
guns, and kept on after us, remaining in sight nearly all 
day. The old hunters could scarcely keep from laughing 
at their excitement and jabber and ridiculous conduct. 
They pitied them, and pacified them. Finally they ate 
their supper, after which they felt much better. I took 



46 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

possession of the guns, extracted all the cartridges, and 
buckled on my belt of cartridges and revolver, as I did 
not intend to have any more such foolishness. The 
strangers soon rolled themselves in their blankets, and 
were sound asleep, as no doubt it was the biggest ' tramp ' 
they ever took in one day. 

" The next morning our friends from the other camp 
joined us, and all started for the settlements, reaching 
the first village, Bull City, the second day, where I very 
promptly told the men that they had been my guests long 
enough, and drove on, glad that I had disposed of them 
so quickly. I think that they had really become de- 
mented, and not accountable for their actions, yet capa- 
ble of doing some irreparable damage; either that, or 
they took the opportunity as a pretext to kill me, and 
confiscate my team and outfit for their own use. The 
only thing that protected me was the camp being so near 
by. The fact of others being near by was unknown to the 
desperadoes until the call came from the other camp. 

" This was the last hunt I ever made with entire stran- 
gers." 



CHAPTER V 

BUFFALO ADAPTED TO EVERY ENVIRONMENT — WHY NOT DO- 
MESTICATE THEM? THE LAST OPPORTUNITY RESOLVED 

TO TRY — THE FIRST CALF-HUNT — FORDING THE ARKANSAS 
RIVER FULL OF ICE — A LONG WAY FROM CIVILIZATION — 
"great heavens! an ELEPHANT, SURE ! " — KILLS THE 
LARGEST BUFFALO — A NIGHT SEARCH FOR WATER — AFRAID 
OF ATTRACTING INDIANS, THE WATCHMAN EXTINGUISHES 
THE BEACON-FIRE — SAFE IN CAMP AGAIN — COL. JONES 
ENJOYS SUNRISE ON THE PLAINS, ALSO A " SCENE " — BUF- 
FALO DISCOVERED THROUGH FIELD-GLASSES — FIRST AT- 
TEMPT TO "rescue THE PERISHING" — LASSO TIED TO 

horse's neck, other end to calf THE MOTHER NEARLY 

IMPALES THE HORSE AND RIDER THE COLONEL SHOOTS 

THE COW, AND PRESSES ON FOR MORE — HORSE FALLS, AND 
HERD RUSHES TO FINISH HIM — CLINGS TO SADDLE AND 

ESCAPES CAPTURES FOUR CALVES HORSE AND RIDER 

FAMISHING FOR WATER MILES FROM CAMP COMPAN- 
ION LED ASTRAY BY MIRAGE DESPERATE RACE FOR CALF 

PENETRATES THE LLANO ESTACADO COMPANIONS RE- 
FUSE TO FOLLOW — DARE NOT RETURN WITHOUT A GUIDE 

FOOLED SO OFTEN BY MIRAGE, DO NOT RECOGNIZE WATER 

COMPANION LOWERED INTO THE CANADIAN RIVER ROPE 

SLIPS — "the sun goes down on his wrath" — LAST 

HERD DISCOVERED CAPTURED FOURTEEN CALVES THE 

COLONEL SHEDS HIS GARMENTS TO PROTECT THEM HERD 

OF WHITE BUFFALO — LONG JOURNEY HOME 

IN March, 1886, after the unprecedented and wide-area 
" blizzard " of the preceding winter, Colonel Jones, in 
his itinerary, says : "As I drove over the prairies from 
Kansas into Texas, I saw thousands upon thousands of 
the carcasses of domestic cattle which had ' drifted ' before 

(47) 



48 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

the chilling, freezing 'norther.' Every one of them had 
died with its tail to the blizzard, never having stopped ex- 
cept at its last breath, then fell dead in its tracks. When I 
reached the habitat of the buffalo, not one of their car- 
casses was visible, except those which had been slain by 
hunters. Every animal I came across was as nimble and 
wiry as a fox. As Watts meditated over the mystery of 
steam lifting the lid of the teakettle, I commenced to 
ponder upon the contrast between the qualities of the 
white man's domestic cattle and those of the red man's 
cattle (buffalo). Young Watts exclaimed, as he watched 
the effect of the powerful vapor, ' AVhy not chain this 
great giant ? ' I thought to myself, ' Why not domesticate 
this wonderful beast which can endure such a "blizzard," 
defying a storm so destructive to our domestic species ? 
Why not infuse this hardy blood into our native cattle, 
and have a perfect animal, one that will defy all these ele- 
ments ? ' I was in the right mood to thus soliloquize and 
appreciate an animal which could withstand such a ter- 
rific ordeal, having personally suffered severe losses in the 
great storm of the previous winter. I had been caught out 
in it myself at its beginning, while hunting antelope. The 
wind blew a perfect hurricane ; the snow was twisted and 
hurled in all directions, until its initial mass, a foot in 
depth at least, was blown into the air, leaving the ground 
bare, where it was completely pulverized by the energy of 
the contending elements into an impalpable powder, fill- 
ing the lungs of everything animate; drifting through 
their hair, alternately melting and freezing, until horses, 
mules and domestic cattle perished by tens of thousands. 
Woe unto the man who chanced to be caught in its mad 
career ! Many did it overtake who yielded to its fury. By 
good luck, familiar with the nature of these terrible storms, 
I made my way to a ' claim-shanty,' leaving five dead an- 
telope on the prairie, not daring to linger a minute to 
gather them in. I was just in time to save myself and 
team. 



BUFFALO ADAPTED TO EVERY ENVIRONMENT 49 

"I remained there as long as the fearful storm lasted, 
— two nights and a day, — and saw everything had to be 
protected or yield to its fury. Imagine my astonishment 
when I discovered that the buffalo alone were exempt; 
and I then commenced to calculate the worth of this re- 
markable but almost extinct animal. With my pencil I 
noted these points : ' The buffalo is king of the blizzard ; 
he was constructed for the fitful climate of the Great 
Plains ; he was made for the use of a race that had noth- 
ing else to depend upon, and must surely be nearly a per- 
fect creation. His flesh is far superior to that of any 
domestic animal under similar conditions ; his robe is a 
' solid comfort ' when the wintry blasts howl. The hair 
of the animal's head and forehead is heavy and springy, 
serving perfectly the office of a mattress and pillow. Its 
tallow is as rich and palatable as butter; the flesh, when 
dried, serves for bread ; the hide, when tanned, makes 
good shoes, rope, and leather. Its fur is softer than 
lamb's wool, and when woven into cloth is the lightest 
and warmest fabric ever manufactured. The under fur is 
like swan's down, and makes a perfectly waterproof hat 
when converted into that article. The rain is shed from 
it as rapidly as from a duck's back; it is this wise provi- 
sion of nature so close to their bodies which keeps the 
animal constantly dry and warm. While domestic cat- 
tle are stricken down by the deadly venom of the rattle- 
snake, the buffalo receive its fangs in the long hair and 
wool covering their head and legs, and then trample the 
serpents into the earth with their sharp hoofs. Its fleece 
may be carded off every spring, after having fulfilled its 
purpose of a winter's protection to the animal, woven 
into the finest fabrics, knitted into hosiery, and made 
into robes and blankets which kings and princes delight 
to recline under. 

" 'The buffalo's endurance is marvelous; as a beast of 
burden it has no superior. The milk of the buffalo cow 
is infinitely richer than that of the Jersey. The buffalo 
— 4 



50 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

are decidedly clannish ; they do not stray away, neither 
can they be driven off their range by the severest " bliz- 
zard," and, in contradistinction to the domestic steer, 
always face the storm. 

" ' Their sense of smell is so keen, they can tell where a 
rich bunch of grass is, though buried a foot deep under 
the snow. They root in snow like a razor-back hog after 
artichokes. The severest winter has no pangs for these 
patient brutes. Their sinews serve as thread for heavy 
sewing; their horns make excellent goblets, receptacles 
for powder, and beautiful buttons. Their fur spun into 
yarn affords the best material for hosiery and underwear. 
Their bones can be converted into handles for ladles 
and cutlery. When ground, they furnish the best fertil- 
izer for an impoverished soil; when charred, are used by 
sugar-works in the process of refining. 

" 'Where, then, is the animal to be found which can 
compare with the buffalo, the rejected buffalo? "The 
stone which the builders rejected has become the chief 
corner-stone." So it is with the buffalo: when we have 
fitted it to its proper sphere, it is the chief of all rumi- 
nants. I will chain him, and domesticate a race of cattle 
equal to, if not superior to all ruminants heretofore 
known. I will attire myself entirely in clothing made 
from the product of the buffalo ^ ; even the buttons of my 
clothes shall be made of horns and hoofs of that wonder- 
ful animal. I will not rely on the ravens for my "food 
and raiment," and all may rest assured I will never suffer 
from the howling blizzards nor for meat go hungry.' " 

The 24th of April, 1886, was a bleak, cold day. Early 
that morning. Colonel Jones, Charley Rude and Mr. New- 
ton Adams harnessed up a team of three-year-old mules 
to a light spring wagon, and a heavier span to an ordi- 
nary lumber wagon, determined to experiment with the 
bounding buffalo. 

' See frontispiece to this chapter. 




COLONEL JONES DRESSED IN GARMENTS PRODUCED FROM 
FUR OF BUFFALO AND CATALO. 



DEPARTURE FOR THE HUNT 51 

Their point of departure was the little hamlet of Ken- 
dall, on the Arkansas river, in Hamilton county, Kansas, 
forty miles east of the west line of the State. Here the 
Arkansas is a very treacherous stream, al)out half a mile 
wide, never exceeding five feet in depth, with a quicksand 
bottom. The several channels continuously change, mak- 
ing its passage fraught with danger, particularly in the 
spring. There were no bridges in the region then, conse- 
quently the only means of crossing was by fording. The 
slush-ice was thick, the water about three feet deep on 
an average, although in places the mules were off their 
feet. It was a hazardous undertaking to venture into the 
stream — cold, swift, and surging with ice — especially with 
only one span of animals, drawing a heavy load of corn, 
flour, bacon, and other provisions for man and beast dur- 
ing a six-weeks expedition. 

Kendall is the town built up on the product of its won- 
derful stone-quarries. Colonel Jones had a force of men 
with very heavy horses there, getting out the crude rock 
for his famous " marble block " he was then constructing 
at his home in Garden City ; so he ordered two teams of 
his immense animals to be hooked ahead of the mules. 
Then, gathering up the lines himself, and telling the man 
who brought the horses to "climb on," he cracked his 
whip over the six animals, plunged into the raging river, 
and was soon safe on the other shore. Messrs. Rude and 
Adams followed the indomitable Colonel with the spring 
wagon, and when they arrived on the opposite bank the 
extra horses were sent back to the quarries by the man 
who had brought them from their work. 

The course determined upon by the adventurous "buf- 
falo-hunter" was over the apparently interminable sand- 
hills of the region beyond the Arkansas, thence southwest 
across the plains and deserts of the Indian Territory and 
the "Panhandle" of Texas: a long, weary march, with 
the almost absolute certainty of not meeting a soul until 
their return. 



52 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Day after day for a whole week the little party strained 
their eyes in the vain hope of discovering something 
which would relieve the tedious monotony of this weari- 
some journey. 

April had almost vanished ; the last evening of the last 
day was rapidly flitting; Colonel Jones was a half-mile in 
advance of his companion's team, ascending a "divide." 
Old hunter as he was, he had always made it a rule when 
on an expedition after big game on the Plains, never to 
cross a ridge in a sitting position ; always standing up on 
the seat, which enabled him to see animals or Indians be- 
fore they could discover his approach. Mr. Rude was ly- 
ing in the rear of the wagon, leading two saddle-horses, 
spared from any work, reserved for the chase when the 
proper time arrived. 

"Great Heavens!" suddenly exclaimed the Colonel; 
"an elephant sure! " Then he sat down, gave the off 
horse a cut with the whip, and whirled the team around 
to the left so short and quickly that it almost tumbled 
everything out of the wagon. Away he went at "John 
Gilpin" speed for about two hundred yards into the ra- 
vine; then out he jumped, gave the lines to Mr. Rude, 
rushed to the crest of the divide with his Winchester, 
and peeped over. In a few minutes, bang! came the re- 
port of the Colonel's gun. He then beckoned for Mr. 
Rude to come, who immediately drove up the slope for 
nearly a quarter of a mile, where the Colonel was waiting 
for him. Three hundred yards beyond was a huge buf- 
falo bull lying on "all fours." He had been instantly 
killed ; never struggled a particle, or rolled over on his 
side as usual. 

This was the first buffalo ever seen by Rude or Adams, 
and they were so excited at the extraordinary spectacle, 
that, as the Colonel expresses it, " He could have scraped 
off their eyes with a stick." 

Mr. Rude, who was nearly six feet tall, was very par- 
ticular to "size up" the animal by his own standard of 



A NIGHT SEARCH FOR WATER 53' 

measure. He stood close to the buffalo, and could barely 
see over the immense animal's shoulders, as it laid in its 
peculiar position. About a hundred pounds of excellent 
meat were saved, and the remarkably large head of the 
animal reserved for mounting. 

Dallying with the buffalo until all the daylight of April 
had disappeared, not a drop of water had been secured ; 
there was none in camp, and, what was worse, none had 
been met with during their last twenty miles of travel. 
The horses were jaded, the men terribly thirsty. What 
was to be done? Colonel Jones kindled a fire of "buf- 
falo-chips" on the highest point of the divide; then, he 
taking one of the saddle-horses and Mr. Rude the other, 
leaving Mr. Adams to keep up the signal, that they might 
not get lost, they started on a search for water. The Colo- 
nel was to inspect the high plateau, while Mr. Rude was 
to follow the course of the ravine, and each with a pail 
on his arm darted away in the darkness. 

Hours rolled on, but no return to camp of either. Mr. 
Adams became alarmed, fearing the Indians had captured 
both his companions; so he crawled off in the grass and 
hid himself, allowing the fire to die out. About eleven 
o'clock he heard the report of a gun far out on the prairie. 
He became frantic with fear, for he felt positive that 
Colonel Jones was killed, as the sound came from the di- 
rection in which he had gone when he left camp. 

Presently he heax'd another report, this time due north, 
immediately followed by two more to the east. This 
capped the climax of his terrible fright: he now believed 
that his time had surely come. 

Very soon, in his terror, he saw what he supposed to be 
an Indian riding a pony, passing by the camp. Then he 
consoled himself with the hope that all of them (of 
course, his imagination had peopled the entire prairie 
with bloodthirsty savages) would go by without discover- 
ing him. At this moment one of the animals in camp 
neighed at the sight of the horse going past, on which 



54 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Mr. Adams supposed the Indian to be, and in anotlier 
second he heard a voice call out, " Hello, Adams ! Where 
are you ? ' ' 

It was the Colonel, who had fired his gun and had so 
disturbed Mr. Adams's nerves, — the former expecting the 
usual response of a hunter ; but Mr. Adams was too thor- 
oughly frightened to remember that he should have re- 
turned the report, if indeed he knew anything about camp 
customs. His long life on the Plains had taught him 
how to find camp, and the Colonel wandered into his 
headquarters without the beacon he had started on the 
hill before he left. The reports from the north were re- 
sponses made by Mr. Rude to the Colonel's salute, which 
had only added fuel to the terror kindled in Mr. Adams's 
breast. 

Colonel Jones immediately renewed the " buffalo-chip " 
beacon on the top of the hill, by the dull glare of which 
Mr. Rude was guided to camp. He had been more fortu- 
nate than the Colonel in their search for water; for he 
had discovered a small pond oh the broad plateau, while 
the Colonel found not a drop anywhere. Fortunately, Mr. 
Rude had brought enough water back with him to quench 
the thirst of the men, wet the throats of the four mules, 
and the horse the Colonel had ridden, — his own having 
satisfied himself at the pond. 

Matters having assumed a more satisfactory shape so 
far as water was concerned, they began to prepare them- 
selves for the remainder of the night. 

A large piece of the buffalo was deliciously broiled on 
the coals, superintended by the Colonel, who was perforce 
as good a cook as he was hunter; coffee was brewed, 
"slapjacks" fried, and the now comfortable little com- 
pany kept up a jolly time by telling stories, the interest 
centering upon the experiences of the Colonel on the 
Great Plains and in the mountains, until long after mid- 
night, when they rolled themselves up in their blankets. 

During the conversation before the cheerful but small 



ENJOYING SUNRISE ON THE PLAINS 55 

campfire, one of the party remarked that as the morrow 
would be the first of May, they should inaugurate a " May 
party." Colonel Jones said that if buffalo were discov- 
ered he would place the lasso " wreath " over the head of 
one, and proclaim it the " Lucky Knight " or the " May 
Queen," according to sex. 

In a few minutes every one of the party was lost in the 
land of dreams, where came exciting visions of chasing 
the bounding bison, or of other strange experiences, new 
to the two gentlemen, who were entitled to that purely 
Western appellation of " tenderfoot," (Col. Jones had al- 
ready served his time as a " tenderfoot,") until the gray 
dawn in the east uncovered its eyes. 

While the others were preparing breakfast next morn- 
ing. Colonel Jones took his field-glass, strolled off in 
search of water, and in a short time discovered, about 
half a mile to the southwest, a beautiful pool of the 
purest and clearest. Such things frequently occur: 
parties "turn in," having given up the hope of finding 
water, but in the morning discover a fine spring or pool 
close by. It seems almost miraculous, — as if some Moses 
had smitten the rock in the night, as was done in the 
Desert of old. That this find was relished by man and 
beast, anyone who has been similarly situated will con- 
cede. He returned by way of a very high point, where, 
adjusting his powerful field-glass, he could not resist 
stopping to contemplate the magnificent pastoral scene 
all around him ; for the Colonel is a lover of Nature in 
her quieter moods, as well as in the midst of an exciting 
chase after her wildest and dangerous creations. The air 
was so pure that not a vapor streaked the dawn, so that 
he could see over a vast area. He who has never been 
alone on the Great Plains and looked across a magnificent 
stretch of prairie at the moment of sunrise, cannot com- 
prehend the thrill of emotion which fills one's soul as he 
gazes upon such a scene. There is positively no obstruc- 
tion to the vision except the convexity of the earth, com- 



56 rOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

passing a landscape which is bewildering in its vastness. 
Colonel Jones stood entranced as he drank in the variety 
and charming features of the panorama, which only ended 
in the deep blue of the horizon, while imagination took 
him beyond and to the ' ' happy hunting-grounds ' ' of the 
Unknown. Little groups of antelope were either grazing, 
or, having completed their morning repast, were rumi- 
nating in the sunny ravines ; bands of wild horses were 
gamboling on the green hillsides ; while here and there a 
wolf or coyote that had not yet finished its nocturnal 
prowling, slowly moved toward its den of seclusion as the 
sun rose in fullness of beauty and splendor. Far in the 
distance was a herd of perhaps twenty monstrous buffalo, 
unconscious of the fact that so near was an individual 
who had enlisted his best efforts in "rescuing the perish- 
ing" from annihilation. How slowly they move! — in 
single file, towards their sequestered nooks, where the 
grass is thick and tender. Now the Colonel became in- 
tensely interested in this group of shaggy monsters, as 
the light glinted upon their huge bodies. He earnestly 
gazed through his glass to detect, if possible, if calves 
were among them, as he did not care for the grown ani- 
mals. What he desired was the young bison, to raise at 
his ranch, and thus perpetuate the species. But the group 
was so far away, the glass was not powerful enough to dis- 
cern any baby buffaloes. There might be a hundred there, 
but the fact could not be determined, except by going 
nearer to them. 

Upon this decision the Colonel returned to camp. With 
the animals all watered, breakfast was hurriedly disposed 
of, and soon the party was on its way to where the buffalo 
had been seen, leaving Mr. Adams to keep camp. The 
Colonel guided, as usual, riding in the light wagon, lead- 
ing his Kentucky thoroughbred, already saddled and 
bridled, with lasso carefully Avound around the horn of 
the saddle, and plenty of small rope to bind the calves, 
if any were found in the herd. 



FIRST ATTEMPT AT CATCHING BUFFALO CALVES 57 

Mile after mile was traveled, until about ten o'clock 
they arrived at the crest of a high divide, where to the 
northwest, far beyond in a wide valley, a herd of twenty 
buffaloes were discovered, — the same first seen by the 
Colonel in the early morning, which by this time, having 
filled themselves with the nutritious grass, were lying 
down for their midday rest. Here the team was imme- 
diately turned to the left, into a ravine opening into a 
larger one, situated between the buffalo and their pur- 
suers. Arriving at the larger ravine, a turn into it at 
the right was made, until another ravine from the west 
was encountered. Turning into it, the most precaution- 
ary measures were adopted. The wind was blowing from 
the south, and it would not do to permit the scent of the 
party to be wafted in the direction of the herd, for buffalo 
will more quickly stampede at the smell of objects ap- 
proaching them, than by actual sight of the disturbing 
element : and the odor of a white man is particularly ol)- 
noxious to them. 

It would not do for the wagons to proceed farther, as 
the rattle of its wheels would certainly alarm the herd. 
Colonel Jones then cautiously took his horse by the reins, 
drew up the cinch, and gave Rude orders to keep up and 
gather in the calves if any should be caught; to lay on 
the lash, and be sure not to lose sight of him. Then he 
led the horse as near as he dared without danger of detec- 
tion, quickly mounted, laid flat upon the animal, and 
galloped directly toward the buffalo. Every detail of the 
Colonel's methods worked like a charm. If he had sat 
erect upon his horse the herd would have become fright- 
ened at once, and been out of sight in a few moments. 
He did not deviate from a straight line in the slightest. 
To the buffalo, the object they saw was only a wild horse, 
looking at it as a very familiar sight; for buffalo and 
other wild animals are not able to distinguish a moving 
object from a stationary one, particularly if it is coming 
directly toward them. 



58 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Nearer and nearer the Colonel approached the herd, 
until he was within two hundred yards of them, when 
they then commenced to rise and move slowly away. To 
his infinite delight, as the buffalo stood up, the Colonel 
saw four tawny calves among them, which had been hid- 
den from his view before, so completely were they masked 
by their mothers, nestled close to their great shaggy 
bodies. In an instant confusion ran riot with the herd ; 
away went the animals, all going to the northeast, as if 
they had been shot out of a cannon. 

By this time Mr. Rude had arrived with his mules at 
the top of the hill, from which commanding position he 
could grasp the whole exciting scene, and take in every 
feature of the chase. Being an expert artist, he drew 
the faithful sketch which will be found on another page. 

Colonel Jones was in excellent condition to do good 
work that morning. Getting so near the herd before it 
started, and mounted on his best Kentucky runner, it was 
a combination of strategy and luck. Fearing that when 
he dismounted to tie a calf his horse might get frightened 
and leave him, he had fastened one end of the lasso around 
his animal's neck, so he could be sure of keeping the horse 
from stampeding while binding the captive. 

As soon as the Colonel closed up to the surprised ani- 
mals, they ran all the faster. Mark how the cows pro- 
tect their calves, sheltering them almost under their 
shaggy bodies I Bat old "Ken tuck" was in his prime, 
and swept down upon the buffalo like a wolf on a wan- 
dering lamb. Now see the lasso, whirling in mid-air, 
from skillful hand; away it goes, into the midst of the 
fleeting shadows of the frightened animals ; the horse 
comes to a sudden halt ; a tawny calf is rearing and 
plunging at the end of the rope in its frantic struggles 
to escape the fatal snare. It is in vain ; in an instant 
the Colonel is on the ground, grasps the little brute, and 
in some three distinct motions lashes its hind legs close 
up to its neck, slips the noose from its head, and with a 



MOTHER TRIES TO RESCUE HER CALF 59 

Bingle bovind that would have done credit to the most 
nimble circus-rider, is firm in the saddle again, and 
" Kentuck " dashing after the hurriedly retreating herd. 
See how the blooded horse sweeps over the prairie ! At 
every jump the sod and dust are whirled thirty feet high 
in air, to land on the ground a hundred yards in his rear. 
What a wonderful picture ! Scenes rivaling the chariot- 
racing in the Roman Coliseum of old I Every hope of 
success now depended upon the endurance of the thor- 
oughbred ; like a hawk swooping down on its prey did the 
noble steed again close in on the flying herd. Now the 
lasso once more is whirled into the air; it shoots out like 
a cat's paw, and rakes in another calf ! Its musical voice 
could be heard distinctly by Mr. Rude. The Colonel was 
off as quickly as before, but as he was binding this second 
victim of his prowess, he heard a loud grunt accompanied 
by a terrible rattling of hoofs, immediately in his rear. 
Looking up to discover the cause of the strange commo- 
tion, he saw the mother of the calf, who, having heard 
her offspring bleating in its fright, was coming to its res- 
cue, with her eyes green as an angry tiger's, and hair all 
turned the wrong way. Under the impulse of the ma- 
ternal instinct, she was swelled with righteous indigna- 
tion and deliberate determination to rescue her baby or 
die in the attempt, — apparently feeling as competent to 
crush the daring robber as if every hair on her body was 
a keen lance and her horns of Damascus' steel. Discre- 
tion at this serious juncture was better than valor ; with 
a bound that surprised the Colonel himself, he threw his 
body into the saddle and sunk both spurs into Kentuck's 
flanks, upon which the horse darted off like a flash, with 
the enraged cow in close pursuit. 

In an instant the end of the rope was reached ; Kentuck 
whirled into the air like a small boy's top, as the other 
end was still around the calf's neck. There was no time 
to unfasten the rope from the horse's neck, as the cow had 
already passed him, and was fixing herself for another 



60 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

charge. All that could be done under the pecviliar cir- 
cumstances in which the Colonel found himself, was to 
run Kentuck in a circle, using the calf for a pivot, or, if 
possible, shoot the cow. Bang ! bang ! bang ! came three 
reports successively from the Colonel's forty-five double- 
action revolver, which he always carried on hunting expe- 
ditions ; but still the cow came nearer and nearer. The 
gallant hunter realized the fact that there remained only 
two charges in the chambers of his weapon with which to 
do the work; so he collected his nerve and waited until 
the furious animal was almost within reach of his horse; 
then, leaning far back in the saddle, he took deliberate 
aim, firing for the fourth time. The cow gave a furious 
snort, and bounded away as if a dynamite cartridge had 
exploded at her side. She was hit high up in the shoul- 
der, badly hurt, but not mortally wounded. When she 
had gotten off about a hundred yards, she halted, shook 
her head, and pawed the earth. Colonel Jones, taking 
advantage of this lull in hostilities, quickly slipped off 
Kentuck, tied one of the calf's hind legs close to its neck, 
then drew the noose from its neck, again mounted, and 
started after the fleeting herd a mile away, as deliberately 
as though nothing had happened. The herd by this time 
had become heated, and their anger was at the highest 
pitch. 

Upon overtaking them, he profited by the lesson he had 
just learned, and did not attempt to throw the lasso over 
another calf while the rope was attached to his horse's 
neck. So, reaching down, he attempted to untie it, but 
the terrible strain it had been subjected to during his 
little fracas with the cow had so tightened the knot that 
he found he could not do so. The Colonel was well aware 
that if he stopped to untie it, it would be impossible to 
overtake the herd again, as his horse was fast becoming 
fatigued, and not able to make another race. He con- 
cluded that if he pressed the herd hard enough the old 
buffalo would get away and abandon the calves, which 



NARROW ESCAPE FROM DEATH 61 

they would not do under ordinary circumstances. He 
then contented himself with an occasional dash between 
the calf and the remainder of the herd, causing it to bleat 
and beg for assistance. In every instance the cows and 
bulls grunted in response, invariably turning completely 
around, facing their enemy with a solid front of sharp- 
horned and vicious-looking heads, coming in the very im- 
personation of brute rage to the rescue of their little one. 
The Colonel then determined to resort to the expedient 
of catching one of the calves with his hands, so he could 
hurriedly let it go if the herd pressed too closely. Reach- 
ing over to the right, as they dashed over the prairie, he 
succeeded in effecting what he had determined upon, by 
grasping the tail of one of the calves ; ( buffalo always run 
with their tails curved over their backs, " like scorpions.") 
The well-trained Kentuck knew that whenever his rider 
leaned to the right or to the left it was a signal to turn 
in that direction. So, when the Colonel leaned to the 
right to grasp the tail of the calf, the horse promptly 
turned in that direction, unfortunately striking the 
calf with his feet, — and in an instant horse, rider and 
young buffalo were tumbled in a confused mass on the 
ground ! 

The calf bellowed lustily, half scared to death, upon 
which cry for help nineteen of the infuriated bulls and 
cows started for the intrepid but reckless Colonel with all 
the intensity of concentrated wrath. He at once realized 
the terrible predicament he was in, but his inevitable" 
coolness in time of danger did not forsake him in this 
instance. Striking the horse a terrific cut with the rope, 
which brought him to his feet and senses in a second, 
away he dashed with his master clinging to the saddle, 
out of the way of the impending clash of the charging 
buffalo. It was a " close call," to employ a Western ex- 
pression indicative of escape from almost certain death ; 
but Fortune favored the hunter that day, as she has many 
times since, and the buffalo were doubly enraged and no 



62 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

doubt disgusted upon arriving at the spot where the calf 
stood, to find their enemy vanished like a mirage. 

These two thrilling experiences, so closely following 
each other, did not abate one jot of the Colonel's usual 
" nerve " : in a moment, like Wellington at the battle of 
Waterloo, it was "Up, Guards, and at them ! " Again, 
as soon as he could straighten out matters, he dashed 
into the herd, running it until one calf, exhausted, was 
far in the rear. He pressed the old buffalo at such a rate 
that they were soon so far away they could not hear it 
bleat. He then deliberately whirled his horse about, gal- 
loped back and met the calf, threw the lasso around its 
neck, dismounted, tied it, and started for the other, the 
last calf. By careful tactics he succeeded in overtaking the 
herd, and the last calf and its mother w^ere separated from 
the herd, when, with the last load in his revolver, he so 
wounded the cow that she was unable to keep up with her 
young one, and throwing the lasso over it, he captured the 
coveted prize. 

Three very exciting hours had just passed in the intense 
desperate struggle to secure what he had determined to 
do. The sun under the semi-tropical skies of the region 
was terrific; both the Colonel and his wonderful horse 
were so worn out, that, after resting for a few moments, 
they were so stiff that neither could make any rapid move- 
ment. What was to be done ? Mr. Rude was nowhere to 
be seen, although he had received positive orders to run 
his mules under the lash, and gather the calves as he came 
to them. The Colonel led his horse, after the animal had 
recuperated somewhat, to the crest of a high hill, hoping 
to discover Mr. Rude somewhere in sight; but all was a 
vast prairie, devoid of everything animate except a large 
herd of antelope and a small band of wild horses in the 
far southwest. 

A close estimate of the distance from the point at 
which he had left Mr. Rude, also to camp, was made. 
He found it to be for the former about fifteen miles and 



MILES FROM CAMP, WITHOUT WATER 63 

the latter twenty-five on a bee line, or forty to camp, by 
the circuitous way in which he had come. It was nearly 
the middle of the afternoon now ; to go straight to camp 
would take until midnight to reach it on foot, if at all, 
that day. His tongue was already parched and swollen ; 
there was an abundance of water in the wagon which Mr. 
Rude drove, if he could only be found. On the Great 
Plains, ninety-nine men out of a hundred would become 
bewildered under the circumstances, lose their course on 
seeing the spectral lakes of the weird "mirage," and 
either follow them, or travel miles out of the way to 
avoid them, until all idea of the right direction were ab- 
solutely forgotten. The Colonel plodded along on foot, 
— all there was left for him to do, — dragging his horse 
after him, until the faithful animal absolutely refused to 
go any farther. He then took off the saddle, tied the ex- 
hausted horse to it, and started on foot in search of Mr. 
Rude, and plodded along for two long hours. 

Reader, imagine yourself in the Colonel's situation : no 
doubt left to perish, perhaps, as miserably as Jonah's 
gourd, "for the want of water"! Still the old hunter's 
courage did not flag for an instant, although the sun was 
rapidly approaching the western horizon. Just at this 
juncture he suddenly saw an object far away to the south, 
moving directly east, which his keen eye made out to be 
Mr. Rude. 

He commenced to run as fast as he was able toward 
him, but failed to attract his attention until he almost 
overtook him. He was driving straight for an antelope 
more than a mile away, which was standing still, looking 
back at him with that animal's curiosity ; and this Mr. 
Rude said he thought was a man on horseback. He was 
completely "turned around" and bewildered; had not 
the remotest idea of where he was ; and it would have 
been doubtful if he could ever find his way back to camp, 
if the Colonel had not opportunely come up with him. 
The keg of water was soon tested ; "the sweetest and best 



64 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

beverage ever drank by mortal man," as the Colonel 
afterwards expressed it, rivaling the sweet springs of 
Bethsaida. 

Mr. Rude had gathered in the first calf, and driven up 
to the second one, which had caused the Colonel so much 
trouble ; but, having only one leg tied in the terrible 
struggle, it would hobble around in such a vexing manner 
whenever he attempted to approach it, that it scared the 
mules, and they reared and plunged on nearing it so that he 
could not secure it at all. He decided to remain there and 
watch the obstreperous little brute until the Colonel re- 
turned, if he stayed a month, — which was in one sense 
commendable, in another, almost fatal. However, as night 
began to throw its coming shadows over the landscape, 
his courage, like that of Bob Acres, "oozed out," and he 
determined to go in search of the Colonel. Mr. Rude 
was far from lacking in pluck, ]n\t the feeling of utter 
loneliness, which only those who have been lost on the 
Great Plains can appreciate, was too trying, and it was no 
sense of cowardice that drove him to the wise conclusion 
of "getting out of there" and joining the Colonel if pos- 
sible. 

Colonel Jones, after overtaking Mr. Rude, satisfying 
his inordinate thirst, and lecturing the delinquent in a 
mild way, took the lines and drove rapidly back to where 
he had left Kentuck. Arriving there, the noble animal 
neighed in recognition of his master's approach, who at 
once gave him a pailful of the delicious water, which soon 
brought the normal fire again into the wearied horse's 
eyes. 

Both men then busied themselves in gathering up the 
calves, and by dark were headed for camp, twenty miles 
away, over an unknown country. The clouds were omi- 
nously scudding over the heavens, indicative of a pros- 
pectively gloomy journey; but if any man could drive on 
a "crow line " at night. Colonel Jones was he. His con- 
fidence in himself under such circumstances was un- 



CARING FOR THE CALVES 65 

bounded, for the reason that he could, instinctively or 
intuitively, at all times, by day or by night, in sunshine 
or in storm, take the proper bearings of the course he de- 
sired to make; could, without any apparent effort, give 
the exacts points of the compass, — a gift of which very 
few men are possessed, but invaluable to the hunter. 

They traveled until ten o'clock in the exact direction 
first indicated l\y the Colonel, when a bright light shone 
on the distant prairie, which made the hearts of the two 
weary and hungry souls ))eat fast with joy, as they had 
eaten nothing since l^reakfast, and had no bedding with 
them. The fire they saw was an effort of Mr. Adams, 
who had Ijeen left in camp early in the morning, when 
the buft'alo were first sighted. He had been so terribly 
guyed by his comrades the night previously for letting 
the signal on the hilltop, go out, hf was determined not 
to be found derelict on this occasion ; so he had piled on 
an extra supply of fu(d, the sight of wiiich was so suggest- 
ive of supper and a warm bed to the weary and benighted" 
hunters. 

Arriving at camp in a short time, the first thought was 
for the care of the calves which had cost so mucli time 
and troul)le. They had become very restless during the 
last hour, constantly bawling for their mothers, in a not 
very rhythmical strain. Two heavy stakes sixty feet apart 
were driven into the ground, to which a long rope was 
stretched tightly, and in which, at a distance of sixteen 
feet from one another, a liglit ropo was fastened, meas- 
uring four feet in length, to the end of which the calves 
were tied l)y th(^ neck. This metliod admitted of a great 
deal of freedom, relaxing in nvery direction, and putting 
all <)l)stacles beyond the rnaeh of the vicious little brutes; 
for if tliey had been tied to a post, wagcHi, or any other 
substantial object, they would soon have been killed by 
battering themselves against it. 

The next mf)rning the calves were inspected and chris- 
tened. The one which had l)een the cause of so much 
-5 



66 FORTY YEAES OF ADVENTURES 

trouble to the Colonel, and whose mother had been in 
such a rage, rushing upon him so ferociously, was named 
"Lucky Knight"; the other, which threw Kentuck, and 
possessed an amount of .endurance really phenomenal 
during the chase after her, " May Queen " ; the first and 
last one, "Robert Burns" and "Grace Greenwood," re- 
spectively. But the last two named did not survive the 
tedious journey to the ranch, in Kansas, while the others 
are among the finest speciinens of the buffalo in the Colo- 
nel's famous herd. 

The next morning the hunters were out bright and 
early, as the calves kept up such a calling for their moth- 
ers there was but little sleep to be had. As soon as day- 
light fully came, Colonel Jones was scanning the country 
for more buffalo, and was astonished at finding ten head 
not to exceed a mile away, and by the use of his glass 
could see a fine calf gamboling around the herd. Very 
soon he was on his reserved steed, and dashed away for 
the prize ; but the calf was a large, strong one, and made 
the chase one to be remembered. Once, twice, thrice the 
lasso w^as sent out to ensnare the wiry beast, but each 
time the calf would spurt forward and the noose fell 
short and only landed on its back. The Colonel deter- 
mined to make one more effort only, as his horse was 
nearly exhausted. Spurring his steed to his utmost, he 
sent the whizzing lasso with all the force he could com- 
mand ; but the calf made its usual eft'ort just at the crit- 
ical moment, and the noose fell short, striking on its 
shoulders, and fell off to the right side. However, as 
fortune "favors the brave," the Colonel was rewarded 
after all hope had vanished, for the right hind leg swept 
into the loop as he sped along, and the skillful captor made 
a quick jerk that fastened it in the toils. It I)ellowed lust- 
ily, and the herd of ten cows hastened to its rescue. They 
surrounded it, and the fury that they generated would 
have made a regiment of soldiers retreat, as they were only 
about twenty feet from the Colonel. As he was holding 



GETTING WATER FROM THE RIVER 67 

to the rope desperately with his left, he grabbed his broad- 
brim hat with his right hand, and sailed it into the herd. 
It lit right under one of the cows, which made her kick 
worse than seventeen mules. She gave a furious snort 
and lurch, and made a bee line for the desert, with all the 
others closely following, except the calf, which was named 
" The Plumed Knight," in honor of James G. Blaine, and 
which, like its namesake, maintained the head of the party 
as long as it lived. 

The 8(1 and 4th of May were passed (excepting a lim- 
ited rec(mnoiter, but ])ootless of success) in taking the 
calves to a rinch fifty miles to the east for temporary 
keeping. On the 5th everything was in readiness to move 
to the southwest. The tent, lumber wagon, and bulk of 
supplies were left behind, and on the evening of that day 
the party arrived at the north bank of the South Cand!- 
dian river. 

The channel of this treacherous stream is deep in the 
earth, its banks very precipitous, sometimes rising almost 
perpendicularly more than a hundred feet. The animals 
and men were tired, thirsty, and al)out worn out. The 
ravines running into the river were so rough and deep that 
it was not possible to go any farther up or down the stream 
that evening, and as night was already upon them, it was 
a perplexing question what to do in their dilemma. Some- 
thing had to !»' accomplished, however, and as usual the 
Colonel was ready in case of emergency, and, full of fer- 
tile ideas, took the initiative, — for the others depended 
upon him as their Moses. He first ordered all the avail- 
able ropes to 1)6 collected, drove a stout stake of timber vn 
the ground on the edge of the bank, threw a noose around 
Mr. Adams's shoulders, handed him a pail, took one turn 
of the rope around the stake, and told him to descend and 
send up a pailful of water. This was a trying moment 
for Mr. Adams, l)ut he had all confidence in his comrades 
at the top of the bank, and obeyed gracefully. 

Having reached the surface of the stream, he anchored 



68 FOBTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

himself on a rock and filled the pail, Avhich was drawn 
up. This was repeated several times, until all the stock 
was satisfied. He then fastened-the rope around his body, 
and with a pailful of water in his hand, was soon dang- 
ling in the air. Drawing him up was not as easily accom- 
plished as letting him down ; upon Mr. Rude remarking, 
"Adams must have drunk as much as a buffalo cow," it 
caused the Colonel to burst into a laugh, and not another 
inch could they raise the swinging, faithful Adams. At 
last, almost in despair, Colonel Jones called out to him to 
pour the water out of his pail, which was quickly done. 
There was no water for cofl^ee as yet, and the Colonel, re- 
membering that the want of their accustomed beverage 
would cause much discomfort, gave orders to lower Mr. 
Adams again, which was effected more rapidly than was 
appreciated by the latter, for as he landed in a lump on 
the small rocks bordering the water's edge, his feet slip- 
ped, and he went head foremost into the foaming torrent. 
The yells to which he gave utterance as the chilling fluid 
coursed over his warm body were too laughable to de- 
scribe. But it was no laughing matter — it was getting 
serious ; so the two men above quickly gathered up the 
slack of the rope and landed him upon a safe footing. 

In the struggle Mr. Adams let go of the pail altogether, 
and it required considerable persuasion to induce him to 
detach the rope from his body in order that they might 
send down another. He had lost all confidence in his 
companions. The darkness was intense. A more dismal 
situation for a man to l3e in, probably, could not he found 
in any country. It required faithful pledges to restore 
the brave fellow's confidence, which was entirely gone; 
but the sudden l)ath to which he had lieen subjected Mi rough 
the carelessness of his comrades lu'aced him up. Another 
pail was lowered to him, the last one in camp, which he 
sent up alone, not daring to risk the loss of the precious 
fluid as before, by the added weight of himself. Safely on 
the top of the bank, it was carefully set aside, and the 



PENETRATES THE LLANO E8TACAD0 69 

dreaded task of hauling him to the companionship of his 
comrades above was again commenced. By exercising bet- 
ter judgment and stronger efforts this time, the Coh^nel 
and Mr. Rude succeeded ; and Mr. Adams was once more 
in camp, but shivering with cold, wet through, and dis- 
gusted. His language was not such as would have graced 
the drawing-room, so his comrades concluded he had "let 
the sun go down upon his wrath." 

The next day, after driving about five miles north, an 
almost ()l)literated trail was discovered, which they fol- 
lowed westwardly until noon, when a crossing over the 
treacherous Canadian was effected. Camping there for 
dinner and resting the animals an hour or two. Colonel 
Jones then mounted his horse, telling his companions to 
follow him into the ^^ Llano Estacado " (the Staked Plains). 
Mr. Rude was well educated, and a school teacher; but 
he shuddered at the Colonel's command, for he like many 
others erroneously believed that region with its awful 
name to ears unacquainted with Spanish, to be a verita- 
ble terra incognita, a ^'Jornada del Muerto^'' (Journey of 
Death) to anyone who had the temerity to cross it. He 
uttered no protest, however, — he was too proud and cour- 
ageous for that, and would have gone to positive anni- 
hilation with the Colonel if necessary. 

As the little caravan wended its way over the sandhills 
to the south, upon arriving at the top of one of the lof- 
tiest points both of the gentlemen whom Colonel Jones 
had chosen for companions on this trip actually felt the 
cold chills run through their nerves as they gazed upon 
the unwelcome and barren landscape stretching out be- 
fore them. 

As far as the eye could reach, to the very verge of the 
horizon, there lay an apparently boundless desert of pure 
sand. The wind howled mournfully over the great waste, 
blowing the almost impalpable particles of fruitless soil 
in clouds which simulated myriads of insects, so fine was 
the hot sand as it was moved bv the wind. Sometimes 



70 FOETY YEARB OF ADVENTUREB 

tlio whole surface, when the fitful gusts were more fierce, 
resembled a high, rolling sea with the spray Hying high, 
and apparently as unstable as the ocean. To add to 
the repulsiveness of the picture, disnuxl-looking black 
clouds hung like a pall low down on the earth in every 
direction. 

Colonel Jones was nujre than a mile in advance of the 
wagons, plowing through the wearisome sand at a fear- 
fully slow rate, when upon looking backward over his 
trail he saw the caravan had halted, and a signal made 
by Mr. Rude for him to return. He swept the whole area 
with his powerful glass, saw there was no danger lurking 
from any quarter of the compass, so duplicated Mr. Rude's 
signal by ordering the caravan to come on. These orders 
were conveyed by well-understood signals. (These sig- 
nals were made Ijy different movements of the horse, di- 
rected by his rider. Riding in a circle indicated 'inovc 
on. To 2^1'oceed icestunrrd, a ride in a circle and then 
suddenly out to that point of the compass, after which 
slowly return to where the circle was formed. The same 
for all courses. To wake haste, ride out at right angles to 
the direction traveled, and back. To eome to the com- 
mander, two dashes out and return, the speed to be indi- 
cated by the one giving the order. Danger, three quick 
dashes out. Discovery of buffalo in the distance, circle, 
and two dashes in the direction of the herd.) The 
caravan did not move, but soon Mr. Rude mounted the 
other saddle-horse and started for the spot where the 
Colonel waited, impatient at the loss of time. Mr. Rude's 
horse wallowed through the sand to within a luuulred 
yards of the Colonel, when the latter shouted, " What 's 
the matter. Rude, — anything wrong?" Mr. Rude made 
no response, continuing to advance, and as he came nearer 
the Colonel repeated his interrogation. Mr. Rude looked 
very pale, and replied that Mr. Adams had refused to go 
any farther for fear they would all perish on the desert 
from want of water ; that he himself was not particularly 



CAMPING IN THE DESERT 71 

anxious to proceed. Colonel Jones's only answer was: 
"Go where you like; I shall cross this desert. I know 
you never can find your way home ; you would better 
choose the wiser part." 

This was undoubtedly cold comfort for Mr. Rude, as 
the Colonel whirled his horse, rode straight to the south, 
in which direction he had ])een traveling, not deigning to 
bestow one parting look at his weary and discomfited fol- 
lowers. 

As the Colonel crossed a ridge, before he rode down on 
the other side he cast his eyes back and saw Mr. Rude 
wending his way toward the caravan ; but he kept right 
on, was soon over another ridge, and out of sight of his 
companions. 

When he arrived at the next ravine he dismounted, 
walked back to the crest of the divide, and with his glass 
peeped over to watch results at the wagon. He saw Mr. 
Rude arrive there, hold a consultation with Mr. Adams, 
which lasted fully fifteen minutes, and then they mounted 
the wagon and made a direct line for where they had last 
seen the Colonel. The latter, upon seeing this movement 
on the part of his comrades, mounted his horse again, as- 
cended in full view, and continued straight ahead as 
though nothing out of the usual course had occurred. 

Mile after mile he worried off; there was no vegetation 
of any character visible anywhere; the darkness set in 
very early, so he halted, to wait until the wagon should 
come up. Here was made a "diy camp," for the drive 
had been so heavy it was impossible to carry water, ex- 
cepting that contained in the ten-gallon keg; enough 
only to serve for drinking purposes for the men. It was 
a most uncomfortable night — dark, cold, and misty; be- 
sides, the relations between the individual members of 
the party were not of the most cordial nature after what 
had occurred, which did not ameliorate matters. 

The next morning, however, broke clear and bright, 
having an exhilarating effect upon both men and ani- 



72 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

mals. As soon as the roseate color in the east betokened 
the coining day, the reconciled gentlemen were well on 
their way towards the southeast, where a high i)oint stood 
out very prominently against the sky, — Colonel Jones, as 
always, in the lead. 

By ten o'clock the party had reached the spot, where 
they joined the Colonel, who had been waiting for his 
comrades some minutes. ^\'hen he first arrived there he 
saw, much to his own surprise, away to the south, about 
six miles distant, a large lake of water glistening in the 
sunlight. Was it only a deceptive creation, a receding mi- 
rage, which makes the disappointment of the thirsty trav- 
eler a thousand times more realistic, or was it real water? 
He dwelt upon the delightful picture with his field-glass. 
There were antelopes in the vicinity, and a band of wild 
horses was approaching the real or fancied lake. He 
would soon know now. The wild animals approached 
the spot in a gallop, reached the edge of the apparent 
shore, halted for an instant, lowered their heads for a few 
minutes, then turned about and started in the direction 
whence they came. Water, beyond a doubt! Often be- 
fore had the Colonel observed these maneuvers, only not 
so early in the day. Often he had been compelled to de- 
pend entirely upon the actions of wild horses to discover 
the wherewith to save himself from d^^ing of thirst. 

Of all the animals of the Great Plains, wild horses are 
safest to rely upon by the thirsty traveler, as they drink 
every day between ten and three o'clock ; while buffalo 
will go three days or longer at a time without attempting 
to find a stream or lagoon. Antelope are very change- 
able in their times and modes of drinking. They fre- 
quently get their supply from an old pond or lagoon 
which has been dry for a long period. Strange as this 
may seem to the uninitiated, to procure water from where 
apparently no water is, it nevertheless is a positive fact, 
as all old plainsmen will testify. The antelope forces his 
long -nose into a crayfish hole, for instance; then, by a 



THE LAKE IN THE DESERT 73 

process of suction through tho moutli, forces the air 
through the nostrils, this action forming an air-})unip, 
which causes a vacuum, and the pure cold water is forced 
up to quench his thirst. 

The Colonel, now perfectly satisfied he had discovered 
water, signaled the nipu to hurry up, whiidi they did; 
but when the calm, beautiful hike was pointtMl out to 
them they declared it was only a mirage, and would not 
really believe their leader, until they approached so near 
they saw ducks breasting the rippling waves. Even then 
they were in doul)t whether to believe their own eyes or 
no. They were only convinced by dipping their fingers 
into the water so as to have infallible proof, — for they 
had almost pussed the period of believing anything. 

The reader will naturally think, perhaps, that these 
men were the veriest " tenderfeet," or lacking in force: 
such was not the case. Mr. Rude, as previously stated, 
was a man of bright intellect, with an abundance of 
courage and business sagacity; Mr. Adams was a solid 
farmer, and a man of good all-around ability. The fact 
is, ninety-nine out of a hundred men, not accustomed to 
the Great Plains, under such desperate circumstances 
would have been unable to tell whether they were afoot 
or horseback. 

They arrived at the lake about noon. A camp was 
made at once, for they had not yet eaten a mouthful 
that day; so both breakfast and dinner were served to- 
gether. All now felt much better, and what little ani- 
mosity remained was dispelled forever. 

About two o'clock that afternoon, while the Colonel 
from a high point was sweeping the horizon with his 
glass, he saw a ))uffalo cow far to the west, heading 
southward. He watched her until she was out of sight, 
and as she passed beyond the range of his glass, was still 
going in the same direction as when he first discovered 
her, traveling at a relatively rapid rate. This was en- 
couragement enough for the Colonel, as he knew by her 



74 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

gait that she had been frightened and was hurrying to 
the main herd. 

The team was quickly "hooked up," and all started 
at a good gait toward the south, not halting until they 
had covered at least twenty miles. 

During all that long distance not an object was visible 
on the vast expanse, bounded by only the great circle of 
the heavens. When the sun Avas lowering in the west, 
however, nine distinct soiiiethiags were seen in the extreme 
southwest; but they were too far off to be classified, in 
the rapidly coming gloom. Colonel Jones and Mr. Rude 
immediately mounted their horses, leaving Mr. Adams to 
follow with the team. In a short time, after a brisk lope, 
the Colonel and his companion came in full sight of nine 
buffalo bulls, of immense size. 

By dismounting and leading their horses, or rather, 
walking by their sides, thus masking themselves, taking 
care to keep the animals on the side next to the buffalo, 
they were enabled to approach very near the monstrous 
beasts. At the proper moment. Colonel Jones handed the 
bridle-reins of his horse to Mr. Rude, and whispering, 
'.' Keep straight on until I shoot," he then dropped on the 
ground. As soon as the horses had passed from between 
him and the herd, bang ! went his gun, and away went all 
the butt'alo. Mr. Rude was terribly discouraged, and 
yelled out, "Shoot again ! Shoot again ! " 

"Just wait," replied the Colonel ; "I only want one for 
meat." 

"But you didn't touch one," indignantly answered 
Mr. Rude. 

"You just hold on, and you'll see whether I did or 
not," said the Colonel. 

Sure enough, at this moment one of the huge beasts be- 
gan to jump rather stiffly, and in another minute he was 
lying broadside on the prairie, the deadest buffalo Mr, 
Rude had ever seen. 

The Colonel had adopted his old tactics — pierced the 



LAST HERD OF BUFFALO DIBCOVERED 75 

beast directly through the lungs, which invariably per- 
mits him to run a hundred yards or more before he suc- 
cumljs to the inevitable effects of such a shot. 

Mr. Rude was soon busying himself in cutting out the 
choice of the best parts of the buffalo, for the whole party 
were hungry for nature's delicious food. He selected that 
portion which extends from the loins forward to where 
the neck joins the shoulders, which includes the" hump," ^ 
yielding about a hundred pounds of the most tender of all 
meat, and never found on any other animal. Thus the 
buffalo is just that quantity in excess of the domestic 
S2)ecies of the bovine family to which he is allied. 

While Mr. Rude was thus employed, Colonel Jones rode 
a quarter of a mile toward the south, and coming to the 
crest of the divide, peeped cautiously bej^ond, where the 
buft'alo had just passed over, and there saw the last herd 
of buffalo remaining in the whole world, — numbering, as 
nearly as he could estimate, about six hundred. 

Without attempting to disturb them, he hurriedly re- 
turned to where the dead buffalo was, and gathering up a 
piece of meat the two men were off for the wagon. 

It was now rapidl}' approaching night : where was Mr. 
Adams ? Nothing could be seen or heard of him. The 
spurs were vigorously applied, and down the divide they 
dashed as quickly as was consistent with safety, reached 
the level valley, and were soon far apart. Finally Mr. 
Rude overtook the team, halted it, then discharged his 
gun, at the signal of which the Colonel returned the 
salute, and was soon with his comrades. 

Just as night had closed in, a cold rain and sleet began 
falling. In the morning there was no abatement of the 

' The hump is a large layer or roll of choice tender meat, extending from the neck 
of the animal, back to the hips, being much larger and higher immediately over the 
shoulders, and tapering gradually back to a small round muscle. This meat lies on 
the upper portion of the ribs, and tapers to a sharp edge at the crest of the animal's 
back, supported by false spines or ribs, standing perpendicularly on each joint of the 
vertebrae. They are flat, and range In length from three to eight Inches ; the longest 
being immediately over the shoulders, gradually becoming shorter toward the hips. 
This accounts for the crooked backs of the buffalo. 



76 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

storm, and the party had to content themselves with 
lying on their blankets under an improvised tent, formed 
by the wagon-tongue as a ridgepole, held up by the neck- 
yoke of the wagon, with a piece of canvas thrown over, — 
all open, of course, at both ends. No fire was kindled, as 
everything was soaked with water ; so there was nothing 
cooked. They ate some dry biscuit, which was heartily 
relished, because the life they were living was very pro- 
vocative of a good appetite, although they were cold and 
constantly shivering. 

At intervals during the day, when the sky cleared up 
for a few moments, hundreds of buffalo could be seen 
facing the wild storm, with a great many tawny calves 
trembling with cold as they hugged their mother's shel- 
tering sides of soft fur. 

Night came on again, but seemed almost interminal)le 
to the men, who, cold and hungr^^ were lying under their 
improvised tent anxiously waiting for daylight to arrive. 
At the break of dawn the storm passed away; yet still it 
was dark, cold and dreary. The Colonel saddled two of 
his best horses, the mules were hooked to the wagon, and 
he ordered the men to follow him as rapidly as possible, 
and to remember the mistakes of the previous chase. The 
herd of buffalo seen the evening before were in the same 
position still, just over a ridge about half a mile away. 
The Colonel rounded over the little divide, riding one 
horse, the other running abreast as a reserve. The herd 
did not stir until he was almost upon it. When the ani- 
mals discovered their danger they dashed away, cutting 
into the soft ground with their sharp hoofs, which in a 
few seconds resembled a plowed field. 

The races of this day were similar to those of the days 
previous, excepting that on this occasion the Colonel did 
not depend on one horse alone, but changed from one to 
the other without checking ; nor did he attach the lasso 
to his horse's neck. He labored under many difficulties, 
however: the lasso was wet, hard, and stiff, — not at all 



LEAVEB HIS GARMENTS TO PROTECT THE CALVES 77 

flexible ; and this was very discouraging, for the calves 
jumped through the loop, and this was repeated three or 
four times by one of the little beasts before he was finally 
secured. The day, too, was dark; the wolves and coyotes 
very bold and impudent; dozens of them were constantly 
prowling around after the calves, and to leave one tied any 
length of time would surely result in its falling into their 
vicious Jaws. Besides, they took good care to keep well 
up in the chase, watching the Colonel's every movement. 

After the second calf was secured, the teams were again 
lost sight of in the distance, and it would be useless to tie 
and leave a calf so far away. What to do under the cir- 
cumstances, was a prolilem. The third calf was roped 
and tied. '' Shall I leave it, and take chances of the 
wolves devouring it ?" soliloquized the Colonel. ""Yes. 
Such another opportunity to catch calves will never 
again occur. I have traveled five hundred miles for 
this all-important opportunity.'" So off goes his cow- 
boy hat; he tucks it under the rope around the calf's- 
neck, and on he rushes. A fourth is secured; his coat is 
left, to protect it from the voraciousness of the gray wolf 
— the greatest enemy of the buffalo, excepting man. The 
wolf will not disturb anything that has upon it the fresh 
scent of man (as he thinks it a trap), unless driven to 
desperation l)y hunger; hence the action of the Colonel 
in thus protecting his game by the methods he ado]ited. 
Here one of his horses became exhausted. The Colonel 
leaped to the reserve horse without checking their speed, 
cut him loose, and rolled the steel spurs u})on his faith- 
ful steed's flanks. 

The fifth calf was shortly afterward caught. Colonel 
Jones took off' his vest this time, which he wrapped upon 
the little creature to save it. A sixth is secured, and one 
of his boots does service now. The seventh succumbs to 
his prowess, and the remaining boot serves the purpose. 
But when the eighth was caught, there was a desperate 
struggle; the horse V)y this time was all of a tremble, and 



78 rOETY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

covered with foam; and the gallant Colonel, having no 
other garment he could well spare, mounted his horse, 
reached down, and drew the baby buffalo up in his arms. 
He then started on the backward track. He could see a 
band of wolves encircling the seventh calf, so spurred up 
"Jubar" to the rescue. He arrived at the spot just in 
time : the wolves had closed in on it, and were ready to 
complete their tactics, when they were scattered right and 
left by the Colonel, who reached down and drew the 
supposed victim up in triumph. This calf was also 
carried on toward his goal, with a band of more than 
fifty wolves and coyotes trotting all around as they ac- 
companied him. 

The next calf, fortunately, had been left in a clump of 
grass, which the wolves had missed entirely. When the 
Colonel reached it, his courage failed; the danger was too 
great to attempt taking the third animal up in his arms 
with the others. He let the calves down on the ground 
and made a dash at the wolves, shooting at them with 
his revolver, but they paid little attention to this kind of 
music. 

He was in a dilemma; in a precarious position. Where 
in the world was the team ? He was worn out completely, 
and his strength was gradually giving away ; he longed to 
see the wagon ; certainly his companions could not be 
lost. The trail of the herd was visible fully half a mile 
away. 

As often as he would venture off in search of the men, 
as often did the wolves return and attempt to get at the 
helpless calves; so he was compelled to remain and fight 
the vicious, hungry brutes. 

After more than a full hour's worrying with the pack, 
he heard the report of a gun, but in an entirely opposite 
direction from where he expected. Upon this happy turn 
matters had taken, he made a dash to the top of a high 
hill near by, where he saw, about a mile distant, the 
wagon, the driver apparently wandering at random over 










"the PERISHING" RESCUED. 



GATHERING UP THE CALVES 79 

the prairie. Signals were immediately communicated by 
him, and the team headed for where he stood. 

By this time all the wolves were aggregating in one 
large pack around the three calves, and he had to rush 
down on them in a mighty hurry to save his prizes ; yet 
they hardly noticed him, continuing their movements to 
jump upon the little buffalo. He stood guard over them, 
preventing the wolves from effecting their purpose, only 
by the greatest eft'orts, until the team came up, — and to 
make matters worse, bringing with them another pack of 
the hungry devils, which had been escorting the wagon 
for miles. The report of the gun that had attracted the 
Colonel's attention was caused by Mr. Rude, who had 
fired at one of the most impudent monsters, — a great gray 
beast, which fortunately he succeeded in killing. 

The men had gathered up three of the calves as they 
came to them. The three which were guarded by Colonel 
Jones were quickly loaded, and the wagon going at as 
rapid a rate as possible back over the trail of the herd, 
until the other two calves and the horse that had been 
cut loose were safely taken also. It was found that the 
wolves had made no attack upon them ; the foresight of 
the Colonel in putting his clothes around them had pre- 
vented it. 

When the last little buffalo was placed in the wagon, 
Colonel Jones sank on the ground, perfectly exhausted. 
Fortunately, there was a quart bottle of whisky in the 
light spring rig, it having been brought from home as an 
antidote to the possible bite of a rattlesnake, the country 
being full of them. A drink of this was administered to 
him by Mr. Rude, and it immediately revived him. The 
team was driven to where chips could be procured. A din- 
ner was elegantly served, consisting of deliciously broiled 
buffalo-steak, hot biscuits, and excellent coffee, — the first 
warm meal the tired hunters had partaken of for forty- 
eight hours. An extraordinary appetite gave a zest to it, 
such as cannot be appreciated by those who have never 



80 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

experienced a plainsman's capacity under similar circum- 
stances . 

Fourteen calves were secured — a whole wagon-box full. 
The party bade farewell to the " Staked Plains," and drove 
to the ranch, where they had left the five calves already 
caught. They then took a bee line for the Colonel's home, 
and arrived there with ten of the young animals in good 
health, four having died en route, in consequence of fatigue 
and indifferent food, for condensed milk was all that could 
be procured until the Arkansas river was reached. The 
expedition was a great success, and the first effort at cap- 
turing the nucleus of what is now the greatest herd of 
buffalo in the world. 

While on the return from his trip, and when between 
the two Canadian rivers, in Texas, Colonel Jones says he 
saw the most wonderful sight in all his long and varied 
experience upon the Great Plains and in the mountains. 
It was the day after his last remarkable effort. He was 
wearily plodding his way on foot, leading his jaded horse, 
picking out a route homeward for the heavily loaded 
wagon containing its precious freight. As he approached 
the top of a little divide he saw what he believed to be a 
herd of buffalo and domestic cattle mixed together ; they 
were on the right of his course, about a mile distant. He 
halted, and instructed Mr. Rude to keep straight on, while 
he would make a detour, and go up the ravine to a point 
near where the herd was quietly grazing. When the Colo- 
nel arrived at the spot he had suggested, he found himself 
within two or three hundred yards of the mixed animals, 
and was surprised to discover that instead of all the white 
beasts being cattle, one only was a white native cow, while 
the others were white buffalo: a three-year-old, a two- 
year-old, and a yearling. This was the most remarkable 
phenomenon he had ever witnessed, and for a moment he 
did not know whether he was awake or dreaming. He 
had read of the superstition of the Indian in relation to 
the white buffalo, and had considered it a sort of phan- 



WHITE BUFFALO 81 

torn, — a phantasm of the red man's brain; now he could 
scarcely believe his own eyes. There the strange animals 
stood under the noonday sun, chewing their cud, — white 
buffalo as sure as the world! There were their humps, 
their small ears, their short tails. They were buffalo; 
not as white as the " driven snow," but Avhite enough to 
assure him he had made no mistake in diagnosing the 
color. What to do he did not know ; he was at a total 
loss to divine. His horse was so completely used up, 
there was no earthly chance of putting a rope on one of 
the curious animals, but to capture one would be a for- 
tune, for the great showman Barnum would probably pay 
ten thousand dollars for it quickly, as a white buffalo was 
a rare effort of nature. Here were three that could be 
captured, and the Colonel thought, as did Richard at 
Bosworth field, "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a 
horse!" But other than his own exhausted animal there 
was none ; so he mounted it, determined to do the best he 
could under the unfortunate circumstances. By lying 
along the body of his faithful steed, he rode directly 
toward the herd, but the white cow soon caught sight of 
him, and rolling her long tail over her back, led the 
frightened animals at a fearful gait toward the south. 
The Colonel urged his horse to his utmost speed, but to 
no purpose ; away the white beauties flew, like so many 
spirits, and in a short time were beyond' the vision of 
their pursuer. As they went over the divide, both Messrs. 
Rude and Adams got a full view of them, and are compe- 
tent to verify these assertions made by Colonel Jones, who 
says he would never have related the facts Avithout being 
able to substantiate them by the gentlemen who were 
with him at the time ; and "In the mouth of two or three 
witnesses let every word be established." 

Of late years Colonel Jones has figured out the solution 
of the problem of white buffalo. He declares that all he 
has ever seen were nothing more or less than exact proto- 
types of " catalo," ^ the picture of which is given on an- 

' A description of this animal will be found In chapter 15. 

— 6 



82 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

other page. Those he saw in the herd described were 
" catalo " ; calves of the white cow, sired by a full-blooded 
buffalo. 

A white buffalo was killed on the Smoky Hill river in 
western Kansas, many years ago. The skin was saved 
and mounted, and presented to the State Agricultural 
Museum at Topeka, Kansas, where it may yet be seen. 
It was also a catalo. 



CHAPTER VI 
INDIANS 

INDIANS THE GREATEST DANGER OF THE PLAINS — AL- 
THOUGH TENACIOUS OF LIFE, THE " TENDERFOOT " HAS 
LITTLE CHANCE AGAINST THEM — COL. JONEs's GREAT 
SUCCESS IN FIGHTING INDIANS — A BATTLE WITH AR- 

RAPAHOES FOOLED THEM COMPLETELY CASUALTIES 

THE COLONEL NOTED FOR KEEPING OUT OF ENCOUNTERS 
— NO LOVE FOR THEM — BUFFALO-HUNTERS, AND NOT SOL- 
DIERS, CONQUERED THE INDIANS — JONES IN CHIEF's CAMP 

REFUSES HIM MONEY BIG BOW ' ' HEAP MAD ' ' NEARLY 

CAUGHT WHILE SKINNING BUFFALO — " VAMOOSE, OR I WILL 
KILL you" — GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH — TWO HUNDRED 
WARRIORS SURROUND A HERD OF BUFFALO — SIGNALING FOR 
AID AT LONG DISTANCE — HOW THEY CIRCUMVENTED THE 
ANIMALS. 

OF course, during Colonel Jones's long and thrill- 
ing career on the Great Plains and in the moun- 
tains of the West, often absolutely alone for 
weeks together, he has frequently encountered the 
wily red man in all his various characteristics. I found, 
however, in looking over the manuscript of his carefully 
kept journal, that he everywhere evinces a decided repug- 
nance to giving the facts to the world. To employ his 
exact language, he says : 

" So much has been written about the Indians, I feel it 
will be an almost useless and thankless task to present 
the real facts in relation to them, since the domain of 
fiction has scattered so much broadcast throughout the 

(83) 



84 FOETY YEAEB OF ADVENTUREB 

world which is perfectly ridiculous in its perversion of 
the truth. 

"It appedrs to me that when a novelist has exhausted 
his fund of 'blood and thunder,' he falls back upon 
the American savage to recoup himself. I have many 
hundreds of times been in close contact with these ' un- 
sophisticated children of Nature ' as some of our super- 
sensitive Eastern philanthropists are pleased to call 
them ; have dwelt in their lodges, hunted with their 
great chiefs, battled with them, and am familiar with 
their cunning, their bravery, their sufferings, and every 
other phase of their nomadic life. I have been treated 
with the most profound respect, and conversely, been 
humiliated, under force of numbers, by the miserable 
creatures. 

" In the days of our buffalo-hunting, — now, unhappily, 
past forever, — the Indian was more to be feared than 
all other dangers combined. Intuitively, the red devils 
knew a ' tenderfoot ' even before that specimen of the genus 
homo had been classified by old plainsmen themselves. 
The Indian, however, was as afraid of the ' veteran of the 
border ' as one can imagine, and always evaded an encoun- 
ter with one of thein, unless advised of victory by the 
' medicine-man ' of the tribe, — really the spiritual adviser, 
or priest of the band. 

" The Indians of the Plains were more tenacious of life, 
than any race I have ever encountered ; a characteristic, 
I affirm, of all nomadic peoples. The American savage, 
exercises the utmost precaution in regard to his self-pres- ' 
ervation. None have been known to boldly measure prowess 
with the white man when the chances were about equal ; 
nor would a half-dozen of these ' braves ' attack a single 
old plainsman openly, though they were armed with the 
latest and most approved repeating rifles, and their tactics 
and strategy equal to the enemy. They blustered and 
dashed in such a bewildering manner, however, that they 
received credit for courage and prowess which they did not 



FIGHTING INDIANS IN THE EARLY DAYS 85 

possess, and stories are related of them which never had 
the least basis of truth. 

"How often have we read of 'outfits' crossing the 
Plains in the early days being surprised and surrounded 
by Indians. How the savages, it was told, encircled the 
hapless band of travelers. Running around on their 
ponies in a circle, the Indians gradually closed in upon 
the excited little group of whites, constantly pouring a 
shower of arrows into them, while the latter vainly es- 
sayed to drive the Indians off. Thick and fast, it was 
alleged, the bullets were sent into the ranks of the at- 
tacking party, without the least efi'ect, ' as the savages 
threw themselves on the other side of their ponies, thus 
precluding the possibility of being struck.' (What non- 
sense ! all modern rifle-balls pass entirely through a pony, j 
or even a buffalo bull.) Also, that the ammunition of 
the attacked soon became exhausted, and the bewil- 
dered and panic-stricken group was captured. How brave 
and daring this account of the Indian method of warfare 
sounds ! Yet I could take the same number of white 
men, and all sitting erect in their saddles, encircle the 
same number of ' tenderfeet ' for an hour or more, and 
'not one of us receive a scratch. 

" I never realized the philosophy of the Indians' ' strat- 
egy ' until I had wasted a barrel of powder and several 
hundred pounds of lead, endeavoring to shoot antelope 
while they were on the run at right angles to the line of 
sight of my Winchester. When I had learned to aim at 
least two rods ahead of the fleeing animal, when the lat- 
ter was two hundred yards distant, at once the wonder- 
ful knowledge of the Indian (who is never killed by a 
' tenderfoot ' under such circumstances as related in the 
story of the fight as told above) and the ignorance of the 
white man came to me like an inspiration. The expla- 
nation of perfect immunity from danger on the part of 
the Indian while circling around the enemy as described, 
drawing the fire of a hundred or more rifles, is this : The 



86 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

'tenderfoot,' aiming directly at the pony or its rider 
while moving rapidly, misses the object intended, the 
ball falling in the rear, as no allowance is made for thei 
velocity of the Indian dashing ahead at a tremendous; 
rate; consequently the ball arrives at the spot where the 
savage has been, when he is at least a rod or two in ad- 
vance (according to distance from the shooter). The 
next Indian was always careful to keep fully ten times 
that distance behind his leader, so that all balls intended' 
to stop the first man, had passed on before the second 
reached the place where they struck. 

" Before I had learned this lesson by experience, I had 
wasted an immense amount of ammunition, on two sep- 
arate occasions, in attempting to ' stand off ' the repeated 
dashes of a band of the persistent Cheyennes. Then it 
was only by good shelter, cool heads and abundant am- 
munition that we effectually escaped capture, and the 
tortures unnameable which were sure to follow our fall- 
ing into the hands of the enemy. 

"Years after our first encounter with these ghouls of 
the prairie, while hunting buffalo near the headwaters of 
the Saline river in western Kansas, with five companions, 
and just as we were ready to go into camp, preparatory 
to loading one of our wagons with hides, we had a brush 
with the savages under the most exciting circumstances. 
In the vicinity of where I had determined to make our 
camp, we had encountered during the morning several 
small bunches of buffalo, and the indications were favor- 
able for many more within a radius of twenty miles in 
every direction. We had fortunately discovered quite a 
large lagoon, or lake, for the prairie region, the very 
place for a center from which to operate; for, as the 
reader has already been informed, water is a scarce arti- 
cle on the remote desert, and when discovered a party 
will linger near it until everything in the shape of game 
is exhausted in that region. 

"At this favorable point we unhitched and unsaddled 



THE COLONEL FOOLS THE INDIANS 87 

our horses, fed them in boxes fastened to the rear of the 
wagons and in boxes on the ground, kindled a fire, made 
coffee, baked some biscuit, broiled our buffalo-steak, and 
after eating, discussed the situation for a few moments and 
felt as comfortable as if we were sitting around our own 
firesides in the far-eastern part of the great State. Pres- 
ently I picked up my rifle and started off, telling the 
other men I would walk to the top of the little divide, 
nearly a mile away, to see if there were any buffalo in 
sight. I had proceeded about half the distance, when my 
attention was suddenly attracted ))y an object rising over 
the crest of the ridge and as quickly disappearing. I felt 
almost certain that what I had seen was a skulking sav- 
age, but knew that it would not be discreet to retreat, if 
my conjectures were true, for upon thus admitting I had 
seen them, they would dash out immediately and cut me 
off from camp. I did not by any action indicate that I 
had discovered them ; did not even make any change in 
my gait; neither increased nor slackened it, but swung 
around slowly to the left for a few hundred yards, walked 
down a little embankment, and was soon out of their sight. 
Then I made a bee line for camp, or as nearly so as the 
topography of the country would permit, and at the same 
time shield me from view of what I believed to be Indians. 
When about three hundred feet from the wagons, I emerged 
into full sight of whatever might be behind me. Then stop- 
ping for an instant and looking back, I saw fifteen of the 
murderous savages dash down to the very spot where I had 
first passed out of their sight, they evidently supposing 
(as I had intended they should) that I had continued on 
my original course. If I had, unquestionably I should 
have been cut off' from my companions a full half-mile 
from camp. They must have been terribly surprised and 
angered when they discovered I had completely circum- 
vented them, and was safe in camp. 

" I exclaimed to my comrades, who were engrossed with 
their work around the wagons, ' Look out I ' They at once 



0» FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

comprehended the situation of affairs, and were ready 
with their rifles, shotguns and revolvers. By this time 
the redskins were all in line, coming directly toward us 
as fast as their ponies could carry them. I was now 
within about twenty feet of the wagons, where there was 
a small buffalo-wallow. Here I stood until the savages 
were within about four hundred yards of us, then dropped 
on one knee, leveled my rifle and drew a bead. But at 
that instant they all scattered in every direction, the 
majority turning to the left; then, uttering their diabol- 
ical, blood-curdling war-whoop, they commenced to circle 
around us in their usual strategic style. I called out to 
my companions to lie down and not shoot until I had 
opened the fire; to keep cool, and aim ahead of the ponies 
one rod for every hundred yards distance. 

" Our horses became terribly alarmed, and it was for- 
tunate we had securely tied them to the wagons, or they 
would have stampeded, been captured by the savages, and 
we left without means of transportation, hundreds of 
miles from our homes. 

" The Indians now sent several balls whistling over our 
heads, and were constantly pressing closer and closer in 
upon us; yet we never moved from our position, or made 
any demonstration whatever. These tactics, doubtless, 
put them in a quandary: they evidently could not deter- 
mine whether we were old hunters, saving our ammuni- 
tion, were veritable ' tenderfeet,' or were so Ijadly scared 
that we dared not fire. A few moments later their doubts 
were speedily dissolved, for when they luid crowded in 
until I could plainly see the ears of their horses, having 
by this time calculated the distance pretty well, I cried 
out, 'All ready, boys ! ' raised myself on one knee, aimed 
two rods ahead of the front horse, and fired ; and by the 
puff of dust raised by the ball knew it had struck about a 
foot behind the animal's hind foot, directly in the rear. 
Then I knew well what to do next time : I aimed a little 
farther in front, and four feet higher, touched the hair- 



A BATTLE WITH ARRAPAH0E8 89 

trigger at the instant, and watched the result of my shot 
with as much confidence as though I had the pony so 
near I could have touched him with my rifle. Spat I 
went the ball, and instantly the bald-faced animal rolled ' 
over and over. Its rider was on his feet before the animal 
was off his, running away like a wild turkey. Having 
thus disposed of one of the red devils, I turned my bat- 
tery on the last of the savages, and sent a ball which 
crippled his horse very badly ; yet the scared Indian ap- 
plied his whip so vigorously that he soon reached the 
Bame little ' cut-bank ' that had served me so kindly a 
short time before. My men sent many shots into them, 
and claimed several horses were badly wounded. 

"Immediately after this last essay of ours, every one 
of the bewildered savages was out of sight. We then 
walked out to look around the field of battle. On reach- 
ing the prominence which shielded the Indians, if any of 
them remained in the vicinity, we found that as far as 
our vision extended there was nothing but the tracks of 
their ponies visible, as they had hurried off. We then 
returned to the spot where the pony I had shot was toss- 
ing in his agony, throwing his head about, and appearing 
to suffer the greatest misery. I found the ball from my 
rifle had struck him in the right shoulder and passed out 
just at the point of his other shoulder, crushing the bone 
in its passage. In his fall he had skinned his side terri- 
bly by coming in contact with the hard, dry ground. A 
ball from the revolver of one of my companions put the 
poor brute out of pain. And thus ended what might have 
been a bloody fight had we not known how to deal with 
the merciless redskins. 

"The band which had attacked us belonged to a party 
of Arrapahoes that had been harassing the hunters in the 
region for more than a week previously to our entering 
the valley, but they did not show up afterward. 

" We kept out a strong guard that night, and the next 
day killed sixteen buffalo. We pulled out for the station 



90 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

the following morning with a full load of fine skins, for 
which we received two dollars and thirty-five cents each 
— an excellent remuneration for our work. 

"As an Indian-fighter, I must admit that I never es- 
pecially desired to get into battle with the savage ; nor do 
I care to boast of scores of scalps, as some self-styled 
plainsmen do; was always more famous for keeping out 
of the way of the wily nomads than for seeking their 
hiding-places and 'itching for a fight.' The 'daredevil' 
type, or what some would term, brave men, seldom if ever 
I survived those troublesome days. I may have killed an 
Indian or two; if I did, no one will ever be the wiser, as I 
do not possess any Indian scalps, — hope none will accuse 
me of so doing. I must confess, that in those trouble- 
some days I would as soon have killed an Indian as a rat- 
tlesnake. 

" Some people will doubtless say I was a hard-hearted 
and strange sort of a frontiersman. To all such let me 
Bay that they never have passed through the scenes, trials 
and tribulations incident to a life on the Plains, as I 
have, for if they had they would agree with me in my 
statements regarding the 'children of the prairie.' If 
you had been with me from 1869 to 1886, (a period ex- 
tending over seventeen years,) harassed, hounded and 
haunted by these savages ; compelled to go hungry, thirsty 
and sleepless ; losing cattle and horses through their dev- 
ilish machinations; and had seen with your own eyes, as 
I have, scores of innocent people mutilated, tortured, and 
even butchered, simply because they were of the hated 
white race, — it would be indeed a strange thing not to 
have sworn eternal vengeance against the perpetrators 
of such hellish deeds. True, 'time cures all ills,' and it 
has made me recant many of the vows made in my earlier 
and callow days on the frontier; still, I remember their 
detestable deeds as if they were committed but yester- 
day, and cannot say I have altogether relented, and am 
certain they have not gained any more love for me than 



INDIANS CONQUEEED BY BUFFAL0-HUNTEE8 91 

they originally entertained when I was counted as a ' ten- 
derfoot ' in their estimation. I have ever dealt with them 
in the sternest and most determined manner, always 
demanding my legitimate rights under almost every cir- 
cumstance, yielding to them an equally honest adjust- 
ment of theirs, believing that by thus acting I have 
warded off many a severe encounter and saved myself and 
party much suffering, to say nothing of possible death, 

"The great generals and those in authority in the 
United States have been credited with subduing the red 
warriors of the Plains, but such is not the case. The 
buffalo-hunters conquered the whole Indian race — not 
by unerring aim at the red devils themselves, while per- 
chance they encircled the camp, or in combat when they 
often met; but simply by slaying the buffalo, and there- 
by cutting off their source of supplies. As soon as the 
red man was compelled to beg or starve, then his proud 
heart broke, and he plead for mercy at the feet of the 
paleface ; while as long as the buffalo lasted he was 
richer than a millionaire, defied and baffled the greatest 
generals and the most formidable armies of the United 
States and Canada, but at last was compelled to bow to 
the inevitable buffalo-hunter of no pretensions. 

" It will be expected, probably, in this chapter that I 
relate somewhat of the habits of the Indians ; their man- 
ner of living, their social customs and tribal affairs. In 
answer to this expectancy on the part of my readers, I 
I can only say that I really know but little about their 
•social relations; yet I do know some things, more than I 
care to divulge, as the relation of the facts would only 
disgust and shock the senses of the refined. Therefore I 
have let them severely alone in this narrative. 

"I always took especial care to avoid the presence of 
the Indians ; never would permit them to loiter around 
my camp if I could possibly avoid it. True, sometimes 
they were too numerous, and I have been compelled to 
put up with some of their impudence ; but this rarely 



92 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

occurred, as I treated them in such a determined way 
they took the hint ( I really believed they feared me) 
and would incontinently clear out. 

" On one occasion, while hunting, one of my horses fell 
over an embankment and was killed. I could not keep up 
the hunt without another, so made straight for a camp of 
Kiowa Indians, about ten miles away. There must have 
been a thousand of them on a great buffalo-hunt, laying 
in meat for winter. At my approach there was quite a 
scramble among the half-naked outfit. An old chief came 
out to meet me, with bow strung and arrow in place. My 
salute to him was, ' Good Injun ? ' He replied, ' Good In- 
jun.' I dismounted, and by that time a half-dozen lesser 
chiefs and braves surrounded me. I said to the chief, 
' Sell pony ? ' He answered, 'Big chief, me. Heap ponies. 
Got money?' 'Yes,' was my reply. He immediately 
reached out his hand, saying, ' Me see.' I had not been 
accustomed to doing business in that way, and shook my 
head, giving him to understand that when I got the ponies 
he got the money, and not before. I held four five-dollar 
bills in my hand, but was careful that he did not grab 
them. He made a reach for them, but I quickly drew 
them back. Upon this he gave a characteristic ' Ugh I 
Ugh I ' grasped his arrow and pulled the string until his 
bow was nearly double, and sent the arrow into the soft 
marshy ground, nearly out of sight, and walked directly 
toward his tent, never looking back, skulking off like a, 
spoiled child. 

"Presently another chief spoke up: 'Heap chief, Big 
Bow, much mad; sell no ponies. One sleep, come; heap 
money, good pony.' This was very easily understood, and 
I made straight for my camp; took pains not to return, 
but moved about ten miles to where some men were 
camped on a hunt, and bought a pony for less money than 
the Indians wanted, and already broke to harness. 

" Once, while camping on the headwaters of the South 
Fork of the Solomon river, in western Kansas, I had wan- 



NEARLY CAUGHT WHILE SKINNING A BUFFALO 93 

dered about six miles from my wagon, and had killed 
five buffaloes. It was an hour before sundown, and as 
may be imagined, I was very busy stripping the hides off 
the animals. I was leaning over the carcass of the last 
of the five, just putting the finishing touches to my work, 
when, happening to glance under my left arm toward the 
rear, I saw two Indians approaching, tiptoeing along in a 
crouched position. I did not rise from my position, but 
walked in my cramped attitude to the opposite side of 
the beast I was skinning, picked up my rifle, and leveled 
it on the red devils before they were aware their presence 
was discovered. They were not more than seventy yards 
distant, when I exclaimed, 'Halt! ' The Indian in front 
raised himself to his full height and cried, 'Good Injun, 
me ! ' at the same instant striking himself on the breast 
with his right hand, while holding his gun in his left. 
' Vamoose ! ' I thundered out, as he continued to ap- 
proach. 

" 'Big Indian, me; good Indian, me,' he said again. 

"'Good Indian goes around,' I replied; but he still 
advanced. I brought down my rifle on the old chief in 
such a determined manner that he knew very well whati 
to expect next. He halted, and fairly danced up and 
down, chattering all the time like a monkey that had' 
been struck in the eye with a quid of tobacco. He yelled 
out three times, 'Red man's cattle; do, do.' But all I 
did was to yell back at him, ' Vamoose, or I'll kill you ! ' 
He immediately led off to the right, and the young buck 
followed. 

" I then resumed skinning the buffalo I was engaged 
on, and appeared terribly brave, while really I was dis- 
turbed, and guarantee there were more holes in that hidej 
than there are in the bottom of a sieve, as I kept my eyes 
on the Indians continually, for I did not know how many 
of the devils might be in the vicinity, and my scalp might 
be in serious danger. After the savages had withdrawn, 
and were about half a mile distant, an antelope com- 
• 



94 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

menced to circle around them, presently stopj^ing to gaze 
on the red blankets which both wore. Soon, 'bang I' 
went one of the guns, and I plainly heard the ball spat, 
and saw the poor animal attempt to dash away. He 
reared, walked a few steps backward on his hind feet, and 
fell dead. The Indians each ciit off a quarter of the ani- 
mal, packed them on their shoulders, and leisurely saun- 
tered off toward the northwest. I watched them until 
they were out of sight, finished my work, and walked six 
miles to camp, congratulating myself that I did not meet 
the fate of the antelope. 

" The first thing I did on arriving in camp was to order 
everything moved about five miles to the east, so as to 
preclude the probability of an engagement with the sav- 
ages that night, as they would endeavor to get even with 
me for the manner in which I had treated them ; and how 
many of them might be prowling about, we had no means 
of even guessing. 

"It must have been nearly midnight when we again 
pitched our camp, this time in a deep ravine a half-mile 
from the bank of the river, where we remained unmolested 
for another week, hunting buffalo. The second day after 
moving camp I chanced to be in the vicinity of the old 
camp, and discovered that the Indians had been there, in 
anticipation, no doubt, of finding us napping. By the 
number of pony-tracks plainly visible in the soft sand on 
both sides of the stream, the band must have comprised 
at least thirty or forty. It is wonderful how quickly one 
Indian can find another when relief is desired or assist- 
ance required. No matter how great the distance, within 
a reasonable number of miles, help is always forthcoming 
with a certainty that is astonishing, and seems impossi- 
ble without the aid of telegraph or telephone wires. Of 
course nothing of the kind is employed ; they communi- 
cate only by a series of signs, strange and symbolical in 
their nature, yet understood perfectly by every member 
of the tribe, and unfailing in their correctness and effect- ' 



HUNTING BUFFALO FOR THEIR HIDES 95 

iveness. Some of these means are brands of fire by night, 
in daytime by smoke, and by gestures if within sight of 
each other and on foot, or by the motion they make their 
horses undergo if mounted ; also, by little pieces of sticks 
stuck in the ground on the trail, or by mounds of dirt or 
grass, or by a rag, if walking but out of sight of those 
whom they wish to communicate with and they know are 
to come that way. By this silent language they can con- 
vey to their distant comrades what they wish done as 
readily as if they could talk to them. 

"In the spring of 1872 I was on a hunt for hides, 
drifting with the nuxin herd of buffalo to the northwest, 
having encountered the vanguard at a point on the South 
Fork of the Solomon, where the mass of shaggy animals 
crossed that stream. Let me interpolate here, that the 
buffalo always migrate two or three hundred miles north 
in the spring, returning late in the fall to their winter 
feeding-grounds. Aware of this fact, I had learned by 
years of experience that when they were thus on their 
annual move it was much easier to kill those animals at 
the head of the herd than those at the rear, as the latter 
always stampeded and rushed by if I opened fire upon 
them, while the leaders if shot at would never turn back 
any considerable distance, evidently persistently opposed 
to retracing their steps toward the place from whence 
they had started, and would also linger a day or two be- 
fore venturing to pass a creek, river or canon where there 
appeared any danger ahead. Under such circumstances, 
where they had been fired at as I have related, we would 
in those two or three days do the most effective work of 
our trip. Then, after slaughtering all it was possible to 
secure, we would stretch and peg the hides on the prairie, 
flesh side up, and make a rapid drive of thirty or forty 
miles, and thus get in ahead of the herd again. 

"Once, when we had made one of these hurried trips, 
and were past the front of the buffaloes some three miles, 
we rolled at a lively gait down to a stream near the Ne- 



96 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

braska line, which I knew to be the South Fork of tlie 
Republican river. We made straight for a clump of, 
timlier, where we camped and took a lunch. I then 
jumped on my pony and hastened back to a high point, 
where I could overlook the whole country and watch the 
movement of the slowly approaching herd, in order to be 
ready to take every advantage of it. Just as I was ad- 
justing my field-glasses to focus on the mass of buffalo 
two miles off to the south, an Indian rode out from the 
west side of the hill, and came directly toward me, rais- 
ing his hand to salute me as he approached. I saw at a 
glance he was possessed of bow and arrows only, so I re- 
turned his greeting with a signal that he might come 
to me. 

"When he rode up I discovered he was a Pawnee, off 
his reservation. He was a chief — a 'Big Indian, heap 
ponies,' and his tribe was not considered hostile; so I 
was really delighted to see even an Indian in that God- 
forsaken country, as it was at that time. He could talk 
fairly good English, and told me he was one of two hun- 
dred who were in camp sixteen miles distant from where 
we stood, out on a buffalo hunt, but they had not as yet 
seen even a straggling animal ; that they were out of 
meat, nearly starving, and were dancing, and asking the 
Great Spirit to send back the buffalo. I pointed out the 
approaching herd of the coveted beasts, and he imme- 
diately gave vent to his feelings of joy by crying out, 
' Heap buffalo ! Heap buffalo ! ' His eyes fairly flashed 
with the prospect of getting food for his hungry people 
and raising himself a notch higher in his tribe as being a 
successful chief. After looking scrutinizingly upon the 
huge beasts in the distance, he exclaimed again, 'Yes! 
Sure! Sure! ' I replied, 'Yes, sure! ' and handed him 
my field-glasses, but he shook his head as he looked at 
the (to him) strange things, and said, 'Two guns; kill 
Injun.' I shook my head negatively in return, fixed 
them to my eyes, and said, ' Big heaps buffalo,' and then 



SIGNALING FOR AID AT LONG DISTANCE 97 

placed the glasses to his eyes ; and as he saw the appar- 
ently close herd, he shouted, ' Ugh! Here already 1 ' — at' 
the same moment thumping the sides of his pony with his 
legs, and, laying himself flat along the back of liis ani- 
mal, he dashed off until he had ridden about fifty yards 
in the opposite direction from the l)uffalo, and had got- 
ten behind the hill, in order to hide from the animals. 
I never saw a more surprised individual in all my life, 
than was this Indian on looking through the glasses. 
Having no conception of the laws of optics, he supposed, 
as he looked at the buffalo, magnified as they were by the 
glass, that they were rapidly advancing, and already 
nearly within range of his weapon. 

" Recovering from his bewilderment and now grasping 
the true condition of affairs, he pulled from his pony an 
old red blanket, took hold of its opposite corners, one in 
each hand, remounted, and then, of all the 'fluttering in 
the breeze ' I never before saw anything to equal that of 
this blanket under the manipulation of the Pawnee. The 
Indian was signaling to his comrades that there were 
' buffalo in abundance.' I could discover nothing in any 
direction that indicated the presence of other Indians, al- 
though I scrutinized every point of the vast expanse, that 
was cut off only by the great circle of the heavens. He 
too was evidently keeping a sharp lookout, and presently 
pointing toward the northeast, called my attention to 
that portion of the horizon. I could not, however, dis- 
cern anything until I had adjusted the field-glass to my 
eyes, when, sure enough, in the dim distance, far beyond 
the river, on a side-hill, I could make out a l)and of men 
on horseback, who appeared to be moving toward us. On 
the very summit of the elevation I saw another detached 
figure, apparently an image of the Indian by my side, who 
was also waving his blanket in response to the signal he 
recognized at that immense distance. He was repeating 
the glad tidings to Indians beyond our sight. It is won- 
derful, as I have previously affirmed, how penetrating is 
— 7 • 



98 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

the vision of the savages of the Plains. Here, where I 
could observe nothing with my naked eyes (and they were 
considered as good as any that scanned the Plains), the 
chief at my side had discovered what requii'ed the aid of 
i\ the glass for me to discern. In this particular the white 
man blushes for his inferiority. 

"In a few seconds the Pawnee again pointed to the east 
with his whip, and I could now plainly see four men on 
horseback coming toward us from the direction indicated, 
one of whom was waving his blanket vigorously, convey- 
ing the news to others beyond, as did the first. In less 
than half an hour there were fully six distinct groups of 
Indians moving rapidly toward where we stood, and in an 
hour's time more than a hundred Pawnee warriors were 
ready for one of the most desperate struggles for food, 
perhaps, ever undertaken; and others were continually 
arriving. 

" The herd was feeding slowly, and was surely advanc- 
ing toward the river. We stood passively where we were, 
watching their seemingly lazy movements, impatient of 
the time to commence active operations. In a few mo- 
ments one of the chiefs rode up to me and said : ' Me go 
to woods to hide ; come too ? ' I bowed my acquiescence, 
and followed him. The Indians stationed themselves un- 
der the bluffs that paralleled the stream, when, leaving 
them here, I rode down the bank until I arrived at my 
canip and explained the situation of affairs to my com- 
panions, who had by this time become very much alarmed 
for my safety. In fact, so disturbed were they when they 
saw so many Indians in the distance, that they had hid- 
den themselves in brush-heaps, and only my familiar voice 
brought them out from their refuge, when I told them to 
be prepared to witness one of the greatest ' circuses ' they 
could ever hope to see again. 

" The herd of buffalo soon made its appearance about a 
mile away across the valley. The animals were now wan- 
dering down a ravine, as they usually do when traveling, 



INDIAN METHOD OF HUNTING BUFFALO 99 

and were heading for a point half a mile west of where we 
were standing, and directly toward the main group of In- 
dians, who were ' on the anxious seat.' Now we could see 
the interest the hungry savages took in their prospective 
dinner. They were very active, hustling backward and 
forward, and talking in their silent but expressive sign- 
language (so perfect in its symbolization), so as not to 
let a sound escape which might stampede the buffalo. 
The wind was favorable, being strong from the south. On 
either side of the ravine there was a little ridge, which 
gave them every opportunity to outwit the wary brutes. 
On came the shaggy monsters, thicker and thicker, until 
they appeared like a great cloud or a cluster of I)ees work- 
ing around a hive. It was a grand sight, never to be again 
witnessed by this or generations to come. 

"The Indians divided into two parties, one going to the 
east side of the ridge, the other to the west side, until 
their line extended fully half a mile from the river to- 
ward the bluffs. Arriving at their proper stations, one 
Indian from each line dismounted, walked to the crest of 
the loAv divide, and peeped over. Here each, by signaling, 
gave information to his companions of the motions of 
the herd. Finally these scouts ran back to their ponies, 
mounted, and rode rapidly to the upper end of the line of 
savages, then rode toward each other, where they met in 
the low swag of bottom land that lay between the two 
ridges and in the rear of the herd. Not a word was spoken 
until they had nearly reached each other, with the long 
lines of their companions closing up behind them. At 
this juncture there arose such a yell in concert from the 
throats of the watchful savages, never before or since heard 
l)y me, that fairly deafened my ordinarily tough ears. A 
thousand coyotes struggling and fighting in the midnight 
hour on the remote plains over the carcass of an old buf- 
falo bull driven out of the herd, ))ears no comparison. 
Although horrible and blood-curdling, as anyone will at- 
test who has ever heard it, it is as the soft spring breeze 



100 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

compared to that awful whoop of the Pawnees, which 
will never pass from my memory though I should live to 
a patriarchal age. 

"While all this commotion was going on in the ranks 
of the warriors, the guards just over the ridges remained 
in their places, but kept up the wild yells, until the herd 
reached the crest of the little divides both on the east and 
west, and those along the river-bank took up the piercing 
yell afresh, which reverberated through every little valley 
and mass of rock bordering the stream, until it awakened 
the echoes of the very prairie in its wildness. 

"The herd, which must have contained at least two 
thousand buffalo, now surrounded by the strategy of the 
Indians, attempted to stampede, about half running to 
the east, the others to the west, — none daring to essay 
the passage of the river, although but few Indians were 
stationed there. 

" When the affrighted herd caught sighi: of the Indians 
and heard their awful yell on either side of them, the two 
bands of the bewildered brutes circled around and rushed 
in opposite directions. About a dozen of the now excited 
Indians, mounted on the fleetest of the ponies, pressed 
them on, and the noise they made seemed like Pande- 
monium broke loose. The chasing savages fired at the 
poor brutes with their revolvers, and the two herds met 
in a few moments with a shock as terrible as would be 
that of colliding express trains. Just before the dreadful 
collision, the Indians whirled their ponies and rejoined 
the line of guards they had started from. At the instant 
these scouts retraced their steps, the buffalo in their mad- 
dened fright followed them until they reached the ridge, 
where they were again greeted with a demoniacal yell 
which caused them to circle again, and back they fairly 
flew, followed as before by about a dozen fresh Indians. 
This peculiar strategy was continued for fully an hour, 
by which time the poor brutes were so exhausted and 
crippled they could scarcely raise a gallop. Now, taking 



THE COLONEL KILLS THE CRIPPLED BUFFALO 101 

advantage of the physical condition of their game, the 
Indians were in the center of the herd, on the outside, 
and everywhere, — shooting with their revolvers, or spear- 
ing them with lances made of steel, bound with rawhide 
to the end of long poles. 

"Finally, so desperate had the poor creatures become, 
that they mustered up courage to break through the 
cordon of savages to the west, and thus escaped further 
torment from their pursuers. 

" During the terrible and exciting encounter I had been 
seated on my horse viewing the unequal contest with great 
interest, though moved by that natural pity which wells 
up in the human breast sometimes, under the most adverse 
conditions, and I was really glad when the conflict was 
over. 

" I now rode out to the scene of the battle, where there 
were more than a dozen wounded buffalo still standing on 
their feet. They were dangerous creatures to approach in 
that condition, but some of the Indians ventured to rush 
by them, endeavoring to finish them with their revolvers 
as they passed, but made very indifferent progress. I car- 
ried a ' forty-four' sporting rifle ( Sharps'), and asked one 
of the chiefs if I might shoot the crippled buffalo for him. 
He replied, 'Yes, if you can.' I then knelt on one knee. 
'Bang! ' went the great gun, which on the evening breeze 
resounded sharply on the calm air. One cow tumbled 
over, and the Indians, attracted by the report, stood as if 
a clap of thunder had suddenly burst from the cloudless 
heavens. I fired again, and a second buft'alo rolled on the 
ground. The savages then began to retreat from the vi- 
cinity of the remaining wounded animals, and as fast as 
I could load and fire they tumbled over one by one, until 
the last was dead. I don't kno\y why, but every shot, 
was better than usual. The old chief was so excited and 
pleased at my success, he jumped off his pony, caught me 
by the hand, in his enthusiasm, and exclaimed: " Esta 
wano! Heap big white man! " (Esta hueno, is the pure 



102 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

SpaniBli for what he intended to convey, liut, like the 
' Greasers ' in New Mexico with their Spanish, and the old 
mediisval monks with their Latin, they corrupt the 'b,' 
giving it the sound of 'w.' ) 

" It was only a few moments until the entire two hun- 
dred Indians crowded around me, making the air hideous 
with their congratulations in corrupted Spanish; after 
which they all hurried off to secure the delicious humps 
and hams of the great game. These they bound upon 
their ponies and started for their camp, nearly every one 
of them chewing a piece of the raw flesh as he moved 
away. 

"After the Indians had departed, I counted up their 
day's work. I supposed, of course, from their demon- 
strations and hurrahs, I would find at least a hundred 
dead buffaloes, but imagine my disgust when the total 
(numbered only forty-one ! 

" Knowing the whole band would move to the spot the 
next day, we drove about five miles to the southwest that 
evening, where we had fine shooting for nearly a week, as 
the Indians guarded the river, which the herd was chary 
of attempting to cross." 



CHAPTER VII 

PRAIRIE-FIEES 

REMINDERS OF THE WORLD's PROMISED DESTRUCTION — 

STARTED BY HOSTILE INDIANS DAYLIGHT TURNED TO 

DARKNESS AND DARKNESS TO LIGHT PEOPLE DRIVEN INTO 

THEIR HOUSES AND CELLARS COMPELLED TO BREATHE 

THROUGH HANDKERCHIEFS AND TOWELS TO SEPARATE 
ASHES FROM AIR — WILD ANIMALS FLEEING BEFORE THE 
WRATHY FLAMES — PASSES WITH THE ROAR OF A CY- 
CLONE — EVERYONE TO THE RESCUE — THE ONLY WAY TO 
ESCAPE ON THE PRAIRIE — WILD ANIMALS BURNED TO A 
CRISP. 

THERE is, or rather, was, no more sublime sight 
than that of a prairie-fire in the early days of 
our pioneer civilization on the Great Plains — 
now a thing of the past, as the region is com- 
paratively well settled, and each recurring year is lessen- 
ing their prolml^ility. Some of the most awful in their 
results were purposely started by the Indians, who were 
jealous of the constant encroachment of the whites upon 
what the savage was pleased to call his own domain, and 
adopted this method, among their many devilish plans of 
driving off the intruders, whose cattle and horses suffered 
fearfully by being deprived of their pasture in this man- 
ner. At the present time these fires, while of course 
limited in area, are still formidable, and rarely occur ex- 
cepting through the carelessness of the individual ujion 
whose land they originate. Sometimes a spark from a 
passing locomotive is the cause, and the effect is disas- 

• ( 103 ) 



104 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

trous to whole neighborhoods. Colonel Jones records one 
of the mighty conflagrations in his journal, which I here 
give verbatim : 

"In the fall of 1872 there occurred in Russell and 
Osborne counties, Kansas, one of the most destructive 
prairie-fires that ever swept over any country ; not likely 
to again happen. 

" It was in October, that month of incomparable beauty 
on the Great Plains. There had been an abundance of 
rain in the early spring and during the summer ; conse- 
quently all upland vegetation had grown phenomenally 
rank. Every acre of every ravine and little valley was 
covered with a luxuriance of vegetable matter unprece- 
dented in the memory of the oldest hunters. 

"About the first of August, what is usually a constant 
feature of .our intracontinental climate occurred : the 
windows of heaven were closed, the rains and dews ceas- 
ing to fall. Then commenced those simoons, the hot, 
scorching winds peculiar to the region, so destructive to 
crops, and which frequently blow constantly for weeks at 
a time. 

"On the evening of the 19th of October the relatively 
gentle southwest wind turned into a furious gale, and 
when night came on we could see far off in the darkness 
a reflection on the clouds ; the first premonition of the 
awful fate to which the country was doomed. At the 
incipiency of the affair but little attention was given to 
it, excepting to admire the beauty and grandeur of the 
scene, as, like the ' pillar of fire ' that Moses and the chil- 
dren of Israel followed of old, the treacherous flames shot 
upward to the zenith from the far-distant southwestern 
horizon. 

" The next morning the sun rose upon a landscape en- 
veloped in smoke, and all that day the air was so dense 
that to breathe it was almost stifling. When the dark- 
ness, or rather the time for darkness, to make its appear- 
ance arrived, the change from daylight to night was awful 



NIGHT AND DAY ALMOST REVERSED 105 

to contemplate. During the day, what should have been 
hours of sunlight were thick, smoky, and a diffused gloom 
like that of a heavy fog spread over the landscape ; while 
the legitimate night was as lurid as the Inferno so graph- 
ically described by the immortal Dante. The whole heav- 
ens, from the remotest east to the farthest west, appeared 
to be melting under a glow that was as red as incandescent 
hydrogen, and the light so intense you could see to pick 
up a pin anywhere on the broad prairie. Many of the 
superstitious really wondered whether the ' last day ' had 
not really come. 

" Sleep that night was an entire stranger to all in the 
settlement, excepting the little ones ; and how long it 
seemed! When the sun rose on the morning of the 2l8t, 
the atmosphere was so saturated with the dense smoke 
that it appeared as if the order of nature had been re- 
versed, — day turned into night, and vice versa; a mighty 
pall spread over the earth. Occasionally, when there 
came a rift in the black smoke-clouds, the sun appeared 
like a molten ball, intensely red, and swiftly scudding 
along the heavens, — this apparent motion being only an 
optical illusion, of course, caused by the swift passage of 
smoke-clouds as the wind hurled them along in its fury. 

" The condition of affairs was now serious, for the sheet 
of flame was rapidly closing in toward the settlement. 
The few settlers in our portion of the region in the path- 
way of the fire demon, turned out and began to break 
furrows around their homes, rude stables, haystacks, corn- 
cribs and other property, comprising their all, in order to 
save them if possible. During the long weary hours that 
the frightened people had helplessly watched the coming 
of the fiery storm, the wind had not abated one jot; if 
anything, rather increased in its fury. No one had dared 
to put out a 'back-fire,' for fear of destroying his neigh- 
bors' property that lay in the fire's pathway. Not a liv- 
ing thing could have withstood the full force of the 
withering blast. Cattle and horses were hastily driven 



106 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

into their stables and sheds, while people were obliged to 
keep indoors, down cellars, or in some sheltered place 
where the scorching wind could not reach them. The 
very air was filled with ashes, much of them impalpable, 
getting into the throat and lungs. Another feature was, 
great pieces of inflammable debris of ' buffalo-chips ' were 
blown from the sheet of flame ( far away as yet ) by the 
force of the terrible wind. It was now impossible to 
breathe with comfort, unless in some closed room, where 
the ashes had been filtered from the air as they entered 
the place. 

" The women and children were pale and haggard from 
excitement and fear, the men exhausted and discouraged ; 
yet everyone fixed his eyes on the awful spectacle of the 
rapidly approaching flames, as if it were a siren that had 
charmed him. 

" By noon, the roar of the fire as it swept along could 
be heard above the roaring of the wind, adding new horror 
to that already paralyzing the silent lookers-on. This 
appalling feature of the terrible scene sounded like dis- 
tant thunder, or like the dashing of breakers on a ledge 
of rocks during a fearful storm. On every side, all over 
the prairie, could be seen nearly every variety of animal 
known to the region, fleeing for their lives before the 
coming waves of fire. Antelope appeared in large num- 
bers ; wolves skulked along, their tails tucked under their 
bodies, — now stopping for a moment, looking backward, 
then ahead in their bewilderment, not knowing where 
to turn next. A few buffaloes drifted by with the other 
beasts, nearly exhausted with their long race, their tongues 
hanging far out of their mouths. The jack-rabbit and the 
cottontail could be seen mingled with the rest of the un- 
fortunate brutes, seeking some place where they might 
hide from the impending danger. How I longed for a 
Noah's ark or a place of refuge for them I But not a bird 
was to be seen in all the vast expanse of the country. 
They had long since, from the first intimation of the 



EVERYONE TO THE RESCUE 107 

fire, forsaken the region, being fortunately supplied with 
means of locomotion that Avould swiftly carry them out 
of t^he path of the flames. 

"Nearer and louder the horrid blasting storm ap- 
proached ; the ashes now sifted through the crevices of 
the buildings, and then the people were compelled to 
hide their heads under towels, handkerchiefs, or some- 
thing of that character, to prevent being smothered by the 
dense smoke and ashes permeating every place. 

" Early in the afternoon, by two o'clock, with a mighty 
roar the flames reached the crest of the divide only half a 
mile distant, and we then knew that in a few moments 
the terrible storm of fire would be upon us. Would it de- 
stroy all ? In another minute everything suddenly ap- 
peared to have turned to flames, but no one dared to 
uncover to see. Another moment and all was wrapi)ed 
in intense darkness ; relief soon came ; the horrid ordeal 
had ended, and then, ' To the rescue I ' was the cry. Now 
to save our homes and property, which had been in a 
measure protected by the broad furrows of earth that had 
been plowed around them. The air was so hot, however, 
it drove the men back instantly into the houses. Besides, 
the ashes were still being hurled thickly in the atmos- 
phere by the awful hurricane which the radiation had 
caused, and it was impossible to live in it without shelter. 
This condition, after the fire had passed, fortunately did 
not last long, as the wind soon swept everything clean, 
and hurled it far beyond. Then the men were soon able 
to get out and fight the sparks and brands which had 
lodged in the barnyards and other exposed places, making 
another conflagration imminent. Many stables and open 
houses were by this means destroyed on that eventful day. 

"When quiet had been restored and the air attained 
its normal coolness, what a desolate picture the landscape 
presented 1 The whole earth looked as if the angel of de- 
struction had visited the region, leaving nothing but 
wreck and despair in its pathway. 



108 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

"A few days after this visitation, I went out on a hunt- 
ing expedition, more for the purpose, however, of sur- 
veying the area burned over, than in the expectancy of 
securing any game, I found everywhere ghastly monu- 
ments of the fire's dreadful work ; antelopes which had 
been caught in the cruel flames — some dead, burned to a 
crisp, others so badly injured they could not even crawl 
out of my way. One, especially large, had evidently been 
caught in the midst of the flames ; his hair was com- 
pletely burned off, his feet so perfectly roasted that the 
hoofs had fallen off, and when I came up to him he at- 
tempted to run away on his raw and bleeding stumps. I 
put an end to his suffering at once, rather than leave him 
in that helpless condition for the wolves to torture, which 
they would surely have done. 

"This awful fire was in all probability set out by a 
band of Kiowa Indians who had been hunting in that 
vicinity, and was no doubt enjoyed by them as much as 
dreaded by the citizens. 

"I have seen a great many such fires on the frontier, 
and have always been very lucky in not being caught with- 
out plenty of matches and something to light them under. 
The first thing that I would pack in a box when going out 
on a hunt would be matches, for without them a man's 
life was in as much danger as from the Indians, in those 
troublous times on the frontier. 

"Many years afterward, near Garden City, Kansas, a 
friend and neighbor of mine, Clinton Gore, who was driv- 
ing across a prairie in a light spring wagon, was suddenly 
surprised to see the flames in close proximity to him. 
Kealizing his danger, as the wall of fire rolled toward 
him, he applied the lash mercilessly to his really very 
fast team, and endeavored to escajje before the flames 
could reach him, which were gaining rapidly; but saw he 
was too late. He then stopped, attemj)ted to set out a 
fire, but his matches failed, the wind being too strong, 
extinguishing them as fast as he lighted one, until his 



MR. gore's narrow ESCAPE FROM THE FLAMES 109 

entire stock was nearly exhausted. The flames were now 
almost upon him, and he was in a dilemma which can only 
be imagined by those who are familiar with the dangers 
of the Great Plains. In despair, he snatched a buffalo- 
robe from the wagon, and, sheltering himself under it, at- 
tempted again to light a fire. This time he succeeded ; 
(and this means, i. e., by a cover to break the wind, 
is the only way a fire can be started when the wind is 
very high on the Plains.) He paused but a minute, then 
guided his team in the rear of the blaze, and followed the 
fire he had started as fast as he could go, but the wind 
was so terrific that it prevented the flames from spread- 
ing sideways very fast. The main fire had nearly reached 
his rear, and threatened to consume l)oth him and his 
team ; so, as he could no longer keep ahead of the flames, 
he dismounted, laid himself flat on the ground, pulled 
the robe over him, and held on to the reins until the fire 
had passed. The horses, although on the burnt ground 
that his fire had cleared, fully four rods wide, were so 
badly burned that within three days the flesh fell from 
the side next to the flames, and Mr. Gore was compelled 
to kill them. His face and hands were very badly burned 
in his attempt to hang on to the team. By holding to 
the reins his hands were jerked from under the robe, and 
for fear the wagon or horses would run over him he 
threw the robe back from his face so that he could see, 
which was a mistake. He drove sixteen miles to the 
town, where he put up at the hotel and sent for a doctor; 
he was compelled to keep his bed for six weeks, and came 
very near losing his life. It is hardly credible that ani- 
mals could endure so much after being so badly burned, 
but they crippled along in some way, and finally reached 
the village, more dead than alive. 

"No doubt many of my readers have seen prairie-fires 
in the middle Western States ; but the vegetation there is 
very different from the buffalo-grass of western Kansas, 
which is so full of combustible matter and so short, that 



110 FOETY YEAE8 OF ADVENTUEE8 

the wind sweeps right over it, causing the flames to be 
wafted much more rapidly than in those places, and to 
reach far out in advance. The rapidity with which it 
travels, and the heat that it produces, seem almost in- 
credible to people who are unaccustomed to prairie-fires. 
Those who have seen such fires during a hurricane, as 
above described, will bear witness to the terror it in- 
spires." 



CHAPTER VIII 

SECOND HUNT FOR CALVES 

EVERYBODY WANTED TO JOIN COL. JONES's EXPEDITION — 

TWO STRANGERS THRUST THEMSELVES UPON HIM PROVED 

TO BE "angels unawares" LANDED IN AN IRRIGA- 
TION DITCH ALL THE SAME HORSE BALKED WANTED 

JONES TO KILL HIM " NO ! HE IS THE BEST HORSE IN 

THE expedition" — WILD-HORSE HUNTER LOST — WOULD 
NOT BELIEVE RIGHT DIRECTION WHEN TOLD LOST CON- 
FIDENCE BECAUSE GIVEN WATER INSTEAD OF WHAT HE 
WANTED — "buffalo, BY JUPITER ! " — " EVERYTHING 
DONE IN A minute" — HORSEMEN DASH AFTER HERD — 
" TENDERFEET " FOLLOW, STANDING IN WAGON, OVER HIL- 
LOCKS AND DOG-HOUSES MOST GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF 

THE CHASE SECURED THREE CALVES COW FIGHTS TO 

THE DEATH — SEARCHING FOR WATER IN THE DARKNESS. 

("A Buffalo Hunt Indeed." Written by E. Hough, sketched by 
J. A. Kicker, eye-witnesses.) 

IT was in the month of May, 1887, that the artist, J. A. 
Ricker, and myself found ourselves in southwestern 
Kansas. While tarrying at Garden City we learned, 
through strictly private sources, that a herd of buf- 
falo was within two hundred miles of us at the south, and 
that within two weeks an efficient effort would be made to 
find them by an old and successful buffalo-hunter. We 
had supposed that the last buffalo had been killed during 
the past season. If there were indeed any left, even the 
very fewest, it would be news to learn of them, and the 
event of a lifetime to see them : it was the last chance. 
Added to this interest, which naturally attached to the 

(111) 



112 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

hunt proposed, was the further peculiar purpose of the 
hunt; which was, not to destroy as many as possible of 
the little remaining band, but to make a systematic and 
energetic attempt to preserve the species from final ex- 
tinction. In short, the hunt was to be a buffalo-calf 
hunt, and they were to be preserved for domestication. 

When we learned of this hunt, learned its projector, 
and became satisfied of its success, — if success was a pos- 
sible thing, — my friend and I were filled with a great con- 
viction that it was an affair in which all sportsmen, as 
well as all who possess humane proclivities, in this great 
country, were interested. We were satisfied that we could 
learn something definite about these representatives of a 
grand and passing race, and confident that we would find 
in the hunt something new, as well as something impossil^le 
to duplicate. This at least was our conviction. With a de- 
termination to go, we set out to get an invitation to join 
the hunt, — which we had not yet received. We looked up 
Mr. C. J. Jones, the projector of the enterprise, a gentle- 
man with whom our personal acquaintance was yet only 
slight. We told him who we were, and what we wanted ; 
assured him that we were "tenderfeet" only in appear- 
ance ( though neither of us had ever seen a buffalo) ; and 
concluded by telling him that we felt obliged to join that 
particular hunt, — peaceably if possible, by force if we must. 
He had refused fifty less determined beggars, and refused 
us also. We begged, and threatened to go on our own hook, 
which he knew would frighten all the buffalo off the range ; 
so he could not resist our stern purpose. He smiled amus- 
edly, looked us over, made us promise not to grumble if 
the bread was burned, and finally said, "Gentlemen, if 
you will obey orders and not shoot or scare the buffalo in 
any manner without permission from me, I will take you 
in." All of which we swore would be carried out faith- 
fully. 

And now, as delicately as we may, and whether he likes 
it or not, we must tell about Mr. Jones ; for without him 



A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF "BUFFALO JONES " 113 

such a hunt, or the pleasure of it, or the story of it, could 
not have been at all. 

The Hon. C. J. Jones is " The gentleman from Finney," 
when he is in the legislative halls at the capital of Kan- 
sas; but when out of his legislator's desk he is just 
"Buffalo Jones," all over Kansas and the West. There 
is no man in Kansas so well known, perhaps no private 
citizen better, in the entire United States. He has built 
a city, made a fortune, and has gone to the Legislature; 
but still his old name sticks to him, and will stick so 
long as time shall last. There is no use of his trying to 
escape it: he is and will always be " Buffalo Jones." 

Time was when Mr. Jones was not so rich. In the 
"70s" he was out west in Kansas, away ahead of the 
"rain-belt," with little to support him but his belief in 
the future of the country, his ability to " rustle," and no 
doubt the hope of a blessed immortality if he starved to 
death. He was mail-carrier, station-agent, — anything he 
could be. He located the town-site of Garden City, and 
by his own ability and energy started the town going lit- 
tle by little, until, snowball fashion, it grew bigger and 
bigger, and finally one morning took a screaming boom, 
and made him rich. He built the marble blocks which 
delighted visitors to one of the livest and loveliest towns 
in western Kansas, and pushed the town yet farther on. 
It is no wonder the people made him mayor, and con- 
ferred further honors on him. But all this time he was 
only "Buffalo Jones." The big marble hotel which he 
built had some ceremonies over its corner-stone. It was 
not known what to name the hotel. "In honor of Mr. 
Jones," cried one happy speaker, "call it the 'Buffalo 
Hotel.' " And Buffalo Hotel it was, and has been ever 
since; and a very good one, too. 

In those early days — for ten yeai's ago" was early in the 
history of western Kansas — the buffaloes were as the 
sands of the sea ; and as 

"The blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee," 



114 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

SO daily rolled their countless bands upon the shallow 
Arkansas. Then, there was hardly a man in Kansas who 
had not killed his buffalo. Now, there are thousands 
who will never see one. Where Garden City is, the rail- 
Avay train has many a time l^een stopped for hours at a 
stretch by the passing herds ; and old trainmen and 
frontiersmen tell, of these episodes, that there sometimes 
seemed to be millions of these animals in sight ; and far 
as the eye could reach, from the swarming sandhills on 
the south to the edge of the northern horizon, the whole 
landscape was covered with a black sea of surging bodies, 
and the air was filled with the rumbling bellows of the 
innumerable hosts. There are few of us now who can 
actually realize such a scene. There were few then who 
reflected that the scene could ever be different. It seemed 
impossible even to think that all those countless herds 
could ever be destroyed. To-day, where are they ? 

In those days Mr. Jones lived in the heart of the buf- 
falo country, and in the midst of the buffaloes. He lived 
in a town which even now has "buffalo-wallows" within 
its city limits, and within a gunshot of its marble build- 
ings. He grew fundamentally acquainted with the ani- 
mals, and learned their every habit, so that gradually he 
came to be known as the most successful buffalo-hunter 
on the- range. Let it not be mi^sunderstood : he did his 
full share toward exterminating the buffalo, partly be- 
cause his necessity was greater than theirs ; but even as 
he destroyed them, he grew to know and regret their fate ; 
and as they faded away from the range, and it became 
certain that soon they would be gone forever, no heart 
was fuller of regret than his, and no mind so full of expe- 
dients to rescue them. He saw that no game law could 
preserve the wild buffalo. Congress had slept on its 
golden opportunities. 

So we were to be in at the last " round-up." To see a 
buft'alo had been our highest wish. Here we were on the 
last verge of all opportunity. Our hearts ran riot a^t the 



GETTING READY TO START 115 

thought, and the question almost tormented us into hys- 
terics. Would we indeed find the herd? 

Slowly, the day of our departure came near. We were 
like children making their first visit : we could not eat, we 
could not sleep. We would call around at Jones's ofhce 
every few hours, and were actually indignant because he 
did not worry too. He appeared to regret the coming 
day of our departure, and we shuddered for fear he would 
back down after all. 

In the meantime, at leisure moments, we got together 
such articles as needed. As we were forced to travel light, 
we confined ourselves to actual necessities. All our per- 
sonal baggage, excepting guns and blankets, were packed 
in a little box, fourteen by eighteen inches in size, — whose 
principal contents, aside from soap, towels, a spool of 
thread, and a whetstone or two, were some six or seven 
hundred rifle cartridges. 

We had several canteens, which we knew would be nec- 
essary. Three pairs of heavy blankets constituted our 
bedding. My friend and I each had a rifle, revolver, and 
knife; and in addition, he took his little pet three-barrel 
gun, for small game, while I packed up my fishing-rod, 
which always stands at the head of my bed of nights. 
Mr. Jones's baggage was intended to be as simple as our 
own, but on the first night out it was discovered that his 
wife had secreted in his roll of bedding a thin mattress, 
and also a pillow. We adjudged such luxuries sybaritic, 
and gave him no peace of them. He also thrust under 
the buggy-seat, when we started, a dilapidated-looking 
valise. It contained quinine and a quart of whisky for 
snakebite, besides various other articles often needed on 
such expeditions. 

It should be premised that our expedition was divided 
into two forces. The heavy outfit, containing the camp 
supplies, tents, etc., and accompanied by three men who 
attended to the camp, left the railroad for the south nearly 
a week before we started. There were with this wagon a 



116 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

fine mule team, an extra team, and three of the running- 
horses — "Jennie," Mr. Jones's favorite Kentucky horse, 
"Kentuck," and a likely-looking black horse, which, be- 
ing of Western birth, and therefore nameless, we tempo- 
rarily christened "Blackie." Aside from camp supplies 
for a month, the wagon contained over two thousand 
pounds of grain. The stock was to be kept in as fine con- 
dition as possible, for it would be called upon to perform 
the hardest of work; grass feed would not do at all. 
With the main wagon went also twelve milch cows. These 
cows were to be foster-mothers of the young buffalo calves 
which we were to catch, and were to take the place of the 
condensed milk which had resulted so disastrously the 
preceding year. This portion of the cavalcade started 
thus early because, owing to the cows, it could not be ex- 
pected to travel more than twenty miles a day, while the 
lighter outfit was to cover three times that distance. The 
first team was in charge of Charlie Rude — the man Mr. 
Jones always "banked" on. He had been on the calf- 
hunt the year before, and therefore knew the trail, and 
the points to make for. 

On Tuesday night. May 10, Mr. Jones left Garden City 
by rail for Hartland, which was the point where we were 
to leave the railroad. My friend and myself started early 
that day to drive the light rig across, the distance being 
only about thirty miles. Our vehicle, which was to be 
the scout wagon of the expedition, was an uncovered two- 
seated buggy, or light "platform wagon," and our team 
consisted of a big black horse and a little gray. The 
former was a large "States" horse, and was purchased 
liy Mr. Jones on Tuesday morning, the day of our start, 
and incontinently hitched up for the trip, without further 
words; the latter was a weary-looking animal, with a 
suggestion of "broncho," a )jad eye, and a record as a 
runner. We had no name for the new horse ; when we 
got to Hartland we had unconsciously christened his mate 
"Gray Devil." 



TROUBLE AT THE IRRIGATION DITCH 117 

It was ten o'clock Tuesday morning when we puslied 
our last letters into the postoffice, tossed our traps into 
the wagon, ))uckled on our belts, and pulled out from the 
Buffalo Hotel, followed by the profane regrets of half a 
hundred men who wanted to go on that particular hunt 
and couldn't. We drove around the corner of the hotel, 
and there a transaction was effected at the kitchen win- 
dow, whereby a certain dark-eyed damsel transferred into 
our possession a most substantial-looking lunch, and a 
wish for luck, — in return for which we promised her a 
buffalo. 

Our road lay west along the railroad track, and across 
the multifold irrigating ditches whicli environ Garden 
City. Our first ditch bade fair to stop our trip at its be- 
ginning. The water was running along it nearly l)ank- 
full, and fairly boiling: for the fall of tlie country makes 
even the Arkansas river run six miles an hour at that })oint. 
We knew the ditch was shallow, and it was not more than 
fifteen feet wide ; and we could see where other teams had 
crossed; therefore, in we went. The horses slid down the 
steep bank to the l.iottom of the ditch, plunged through 
it, and struck the other bank with their fore feet just as 
the weight of the wagon came sliding down upon them 
from behind. The black pulled true and honest, l)ut the 
gray "went to pieces," and fell to rearing, pitching, 
plunging, ])acking, and lying down in the harness; in 
short, going through a whole circus-bill of equine per- 
formances which we were willing to call " absolutely with- 
out parallel." We whipped him vigorously, tried nu)ral 
suasion, and even, in respect of his ancestry, swore at him 
in Spanish; but everything was worse than the thing be- 
fore it, until at last, with a vicious shake of his head, the 
brute began to throw himself back in the harness, and in 
a way we never quite understood, pushed us out — on the 
wrong side of the ditch. 

There was a farmer plowing in the field near by. We 
gave him half a dollar, and he unhitched his team and 



118 rOKTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

came to our help. We meekly took out our own team, 
and rode them across the ditch. The farmer pulled our 
wagon across; and we went on our way sorrowful, won- 
dering if there w^ould be plenty of ditches — and plenty of 
farmers — all the way down to the Panhandle. 

There were plenty of ditches that day. At the next one 
our horse behaved admirably, and pulled straight across 
without a murmur. At the one following he balked un- 
mistakably, but finally got tired and went on. But about 
three o'clock in the afternoon we found ourselves stuck 
fast in the biggest ditch yet, the gray refusing to move 
under any consideration. We took out the team, and tried 
to move the wagon ourselves, but our efforts only sunk it 
and ourselves deeper into the soft, sticky mud. At last 
one of us started off to a claim-shanty, distant over a mile, 
to get a team, while the other remained with the wagon, 
and thought, and thought. 

By the time the good-natured Dutchman — for another 
half-dollar — had agreed to get his yoke of oxen ( he had 
no horses), and had finally rounded them up from the 
hills where they were grazing, and had come to our assist- 
ance, our pride had made us desperate. We would not be 
pulled out of a ditch by an ignoble yoke of oxen. So we 
harnessed the black horse to the end of the tongue, and 
pulled the wagon out in that way. Then we hitched up, 
drove to the bottom of the hill, stopped again for reasons 
the most obvious, and engaged in another struggle with 
perverse horseflesh. We blindfolded the horse, put dirt in 
his ears, fed him grass, watered him, swore at him, spoke 
to him in well-dissimulated tones of honeyed sweetness ; 
but all to no purpose. Then our " proud hearts broke." 
We chartered the Dutchman to pull us up the hill with 
his oxen, and followed behind, an inglorious procession 
of buffalo-hunters. We said to each other, "Oh, but 
won't Jones be a picturesque idiot if he tries to get that 
horse down to the Panhandle ! " 

We managed to reach the way-station of Lakin without 



THE COLONEL DRIVES THE BALKY HORSE 119 

stopping. Here the gray horse balked on the railroad 
track, just as the passenger train was coming in, but for- 
tunately he got scared at the cars and ran off, so that we 
were not left open to the charge of being disguised anarch- 
ists. As the team had such a good start, we did not let 
them stop until we got to Hartland, eight miles distant. 
Delays are dangerous indeed, with a balky horse; and, as 
we reasoned very properly, if we never allowed him to 
stop, he could not possibly give us any trouble about start- 
ing, — which, you know, is the chief difficulty with a horse 
of that kind. 

At Hartland we met Mr. Jones. We took him aside, 
and told him privately to execute the gray beast, or trade 
him off for a box of cartridges. 

" Pshaw! boys," said he; " he is the best horse in the 
expedition; you don't know how to handle him — that's 
all. That horse is all right. Did you put a stay-chain 
on the other horse ? " 

True; we had forgotten the stay-chain. We told Mr. 
Jones we would have thought of that, too, if we had had 
time. 

After some talk with the men who gathered about us, 
and wanted to go on the hunt and couldn't, we ate sup- 
per, had the horses shod, and turned in at the hotel for a 
good night's sleep; our slumbers being broken only by 
the apparition of a gray nightmare which balked, and 
would not be persuaded. 

The next morning Mr. Jones mounted the seat with 
lines in hand; a "stay-chain" had been properl}^ ad- 
justed, and all was then ready to dash into the sandhills 
south of the river. Ricker and I knew "Gray Devil" 
would never pull through ten feet of soft sand, and we 
did not care to ride on the seat only to freeze in the crisp 
northern breeze and perhaps be invited to get off to 
lighten the load; so we determined to. walk. 

"Jump on!" shouted Colonel Jones. "No, thanks; 
we will walk a ways ; we can make ten miles while you 
are driving one with that team," I responded. 



120 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

"Very well," replied the Colonel; "you can walk all 
the way if you so desire ; but let me kindly suggest that 
I shall not stop, after starting, until noon." 

I looked at Ricker and he at me ; we both knew better, 
but fearing the Colonel might order us to walk all the 
way, as he threatened, we climbed up into the wagon 
under protest, smothering our emotions. 

No sooner seated, than Colonel Jones tapped the black 
horse easily with the whip, and he gradually moved off, 
pulling the wagon by the stay-chain. The little gray 
brute turned his head clear around to see what we in- 
tended to do, and soon learned we were coming on just 
the same, whether he moved or not, and evidently fearing 
he would be crushed beneath the wheels, dashed straight 
ahead, nearly jerking us off the seat, and kept up the 
pace until the first sand-knoll was reached. He then 
again looked back inquisitively, but a gentle touch to the 
black sent him traveling through, and the gray had to 
trot right along. 

Ricker and I felt terribly disappointed because "Gray 
Devil" didn't do as we told Colonel Jones he would. I 
leaned over to Ricker and softly whispered, "I wish to 
the Lord he 'd balk ! " Ricker responded, "Just wait un- 
til the next sand-knoll is reached, and he will satisfy our 
longing." But the team kept right along, and such a 
span of roadsters we never sat behind in all our lives. 
We made eighty miles that day, a large portion of the 
distance through sand a foot deep. We passed Richfield 
and another village, three miles south, — Frisco, emulous 
•also for the county seat of Morton county. Thence we 
pulled up along the breaks of the Cimarron, heading for 
a certain bold promontory known as the Point of Rocks, 
near which the advance team was to have crossed. We 
now left all houses and signs of settlement, and made 
down into the valley of the Cimarron and camped for the 
night. This valley, as far as we could see, was lined with 
the half-wild range cattle. We felt as if we had indeed 



ARRIVAL AT THE "POINT OF ROCKS " 121 

left civilization. The scenery was rough and broken, 
quite a deviation from the monotony of the Plains. Next 
morning we ran up l)etween the rocky bluffs on one side 
and the gray sandhills on the other. Presently we struck 
a wagon-trail, and after a time found a rope which had 
been dropped. We thought our team could not l)e far 
ahead. 

On going up to the Point of Rocks, ^ we learned that our 
party had crossed the stream some distance below. Our 
informants were some cowboys whom we met. They 
were out with a wagon from Beattie's ranch, picking up 
" chips " for fuel. Among the men was Mr. Beattie him- 
self — a bronzed young fellow, dressed in conventional 
cattleman's garb, and therefore looking exactly like a 
cowboy. It was rather a surprise to learn that this ordi- 
nary-looking young man, engaged in this very ordinary 

1 "Point of Rocks" has a historical record of much interest. "Robbers' Roost," a 
famous resort for outlaws in early days, was located not many miles to the south- 
west, and being the nearest ranch, the desperadoes that infested the wilds of No Man's 
Land could often be found lounging in the vicinity of Point of Rocks. In April, 1882, 
John H. Carter (father of "Ez.," alluded to hereafter), a ranchman near Lakin, Kansas, 
stepped into a little shanty at that place, where the telegraph operator was sheltered 
from the blizzards of winter and the scorching suns of summer, and on the walls was 
tacked, "Notice ! $1,000 Reward ! " It was a reward for the capture and conviction of 
Thomas MTiooton and James McCuUom, two men who had murdered a section-boss, 
near Fort Wallace, Kansas, for his money. It was offered by the Governor of Kansas, 
John P. St. John. Mr. Carter was deputy sheriff of Ford county, and needed a thou- 
sand dollars just as badly as the Governor needed the desperadoes, and on inquiry 
among immigrants going to Colorado he learned that two men had crossed the railroad 
about twenty miles to the east the day previous. Mr. Carter immediately started for 
the Point of Rocks to intercept them, as he knew they were making for that haven of 
safety for criminals. When he arrived, he found no one had been there recently. He 
made his errand known to the proprietor, Mr. Beattie, and the cowboys, and cautioned 
them under penalty not to manifest any suspicion if the men came that way. 

After all had rolled up in their blankets for the night, two men on jaded horses rode 
up and asked to stay all night, which request was of course granted. Mr. Carter was 
in a room just next to where they had a lunch, and after a cup of coffee they lay down 
on the floor, and no doubt consoled themselves that they were safe beyond the strong 
arm of the law. Little indeed did Mr. Carter sleep that night. He was planning how 
to make sure of the murderers. As soon as the gray dawn betokened the coming day, 
he slipped his Sharps' rifle through a window, and walked through the room where the 
two men and cowboys lay. As soon as i)ossible he was making his way in the direction 
of the jaded horses. When about half-way to them, he fotnid a deep buffalo-wallow, In 
which he secreted himself. He only had a few minutes to wait, however, when Whooton 
came out of the house and made straight for the horses. When within about fifty feet. 
Carter rose and shouted, "Hands uj)!" The surprised desperado uttered a ter- 
rible oath, pulled out two large revolvers, and immediately sent bullets flying all 



122 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

process of fuel-gathering, was worth some two hundred 
thousand dollars. 

By diligent inquiry we learned that our men had 
camped six miles below on the preceding night, and had 
spent a part of the day before in resting up the stock. 
They were therefore not quite half a day ahead of us. 
We crossed the stream on their trail, and followed so hard 
through the sandhills that at about two o'clock we sighted 
them through one of the field-glasses. We pushed on rap- 
idly, and overtook them just as they had pulled out of the 
trail to rest their animals and take a late dinner. Mutual 
greetings and recountals followed. Then we " hobbled 
out" the horses, and threw ourselves down in the shade 
of the wagon, where we ate heartily of the meal which 
Harry Robinson, who officiated as cook, had ready for us. 
Part of the bill of fare was antelope-steak, young Carter 
having killed a buck the day before. 

Carter, or " Ez.," as we all called him, was to be quite 
a figure in the hunt ; and a word about him might be 
well. He is a son of the well-known John Carter, of 
Hartland : the man who captured the two desperadoes 

around Mr. Carter, who was so enwrapped with dust raised by the balls striking near 
his feet, and no doubt considerably surprised at the rapidity with which they were 
coming, that when he returned Whooton's fire he missed his mark entirely. By the 
time he could reach into his pocket for another cartridge, the other desperado was well 
on his way to the rescue of his "pard." Mr. Carter saw he must act quickly, and 
pushed the charge into the rifle and pulled the trigger. Whooton staggered, and 
finally fell to the ground. McCullom had by this time arrived where the man lay 
writhing in pain, and commenced shooting as rapidly as the other had done, and with 
the same result. Having emptied both revolvers at Mr. Carter, excepting one load, he 
determined to finish him, so ran with all .speed for the daring intruder ; but just as he 
was within ten steps. Carter was ready, and threw his gun up quickly, took the first 
shot, and McCullom dropped dead. 

When the smoke cleared away, Mr. Carter found the first man was shot through the 
shoulder, but not mortally wounded. He had emptied all the chambers of his weap- 
ons ; so had the other, except one. He found, also, all the triggers tied back, so as 
fast as the hammer was raised it would fall, and this accounted for the rapid shooting. 
Mr. Carter turned his prisoner over to the sheriff of Ford county, and he finally re- 
covered from his wounds. A mob took him from jail to enforce lynch law, but, after 
snatching a revolver from one of the mob and wounding several of his assailants, he 
escaped altogether. Mr. Carter not having succeeded in securing the conviction of 
either of the desperadoes, the reward could not be collected, but the Legislature made 
a thousand dollars appropriation for him, and a brave man was justly rewarded. 

The foregoing is only one of many such encounters in this historic locality. I am 
fortunate in being able to give a good halftone of the noted place. C. J. Jones. 



A PLAINSMAN OF EXPERIENCE 



123 



at the Point of Rocks. His life had Ijeen spent on the 
Plains, and although yet less than eighteen years of age, 
he had the reputation of being one of the best " ropers " 
on the range, and in all ways he was a plainsman of ex- 




JOHN H. CARTER 



perience. Colonel Jones had secured his services for this 
trip in view of the quick and close work with the lasso 
among the buffaloes. Charley Rude has already been 
mentioned as the teamster. We found all the boys jolly, 
and largely enthusiastic over the hunt. 

The stock was all looking well, as plenty of water had 



124 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

been found in the buffalo-wallows, left from a recent 
rain, and it was therefore determined to push as far as 
we could into a much-dreaded portion of our journey — 
the drive across the " Flats." 

We were now outside of Kansas, and a few miles across 
the line into that long neck of the Indian Territory 
marked on the maps as the "Public Lands," but known 
all through the Southwest as "No Man's Land." Our 
road lay along one of the ])iggest cow-paths in the world 
— a great northern " through cattle " trail; the trail it- 
self before us, a wide ramification of separating and ap- 
proaching paths. We knew that there would be water 
somewhere along the trail, but how far we did not know, 
and could learn only by steady traveling until found. It 
seemed not improbable that we would be forced to make 
a "dry camp" that night, Avith exception of what water 
we had in the cask, — which would have been but a drop 
among so many horses, even if we had not had a herd of 
cows with us. 

As our black horse was beginning to show signs of the 
extra work which the wily gray imposed upon him by 
means of that " stay-chain," we replaced him with a horse 
from the slower outfit, and pushed on rapidly in advance, 
to search for water. 

The grandest sight of the day was a large band of wild 
horses, driven^ by a magnificent black stallion, which 
passed within half a mile of us. We watched them a 
long time through the glasses, and they were in sight for 
a distance of eight or ten miles. They were tired, and 
evidently being pursued by a "wild-horse outfit," — of 
which sort of hunting parties there were several on the 
range. 

Shortly after seeing these horses, we met a wild-horse 
hunter, who was badly lost, and most dilapidated-looking 
in his general appearance. A stampede had carried off 
all his stock, and instead of his catching the wild horses, 

' An explanation of this will be found In a chapter farther on. 



SUPPER AT THE BUFFALO-WALLOW 125 

they had caught his own, with exception of the sorry nag 
which he bestrode. The man looked thirsty, and we 
asked him if he would take a drink, handing him a can- 
teen. His eyes sparkled as he took it, and he drew a 
long pull at its contents ; but a pale, frightened look 
came over his face when he found that he had inadvert- 
ently taken a drink of — water I He was expecting some- 
thing else. He asked the way to the " 0-X " ranch, and 
we told him ; but he rode off in the opposite direction : 
he had lost confidence in us. 

At six o'clock we found a buffalo-wallow which con- 
tained an abundance of water, and here we turned out 
and waited for the boys to come up. When they had 
done so, we hobbled out the horses, pitched the tent, and 
ate a supper fit for the gods. We found that the boys 
had brought a well-stocked mess-chest with them ; and in 
fact, at no time on the trip did we lack for such deli- 
cacies as come within the compass of a tin can, or of a, 
hunter's rifle. 

Our tent that night was a busy and a jolly one. Colo- 
nel Jones and Ez. now began to practice with the lasso, 
in order to work up their skill and muscle for the coming 
trial on the buffalo calves ; and during their drill hour 
we were any of us liable to lose a hat, or be tripped up by 
the heels; while the greyhound, "Don," was roped so 
often that he would howl whenever he heard the whiz of 
the lasso. The other members of the party were busy in 
various camp duties — attending to the cows, arranging 
the interior of the tent, or gathering supplies of the pecul- 
iar prairie fuel, "buffalo chips," — several years old, no 
doubt. 

The night passed without event, except that a heavy 
wind rose and blew down our tent. In the morning it 
was very raw and chilly, and we pulled on overcoats as 
we started out. Soon after we were on the way, the sky 
became overcast, and a chilly rain came up. So threat- 
ening was the sky that at one time, while in the breaks of 



126 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Goiigh creek (another dry stream), we thought we should 
have to go into camp. It was during this storm that we 
saw, far off to our left, a small bunch of rapidly moving 
objects. We had long since formed the habit of scanning 
with the glasses everything that moved ; but up to this 
time we had found only cattle, wild horses, wolves, and 
antelopes. As soon as he saw these, animals through the 
glasses, Colonel Jones gave an exclamation of surprise : 
"Why, they're going against the storm ! " And a mo- 
ment later added, "Yes, they 're buffalo, sure ! " 

At once we all caught at the remaining glass. The ani- 
mals were three or fouT miles distant, and the rain made 
everything obscure, so that their shapes could hardly be 
distinguished, although it could be seen that they were 
running furiously, and that directly into the wind. 

"Boys," said Mr. Jones, "those are buffalo. The buf- 
falo is the only animal that ever runs against a storm. 
Cattle or horses drift before it, but a buffalo, never." 

Presently the course of the animals In-ought them within 
a mile and a half of us. Ricker and I kept the glasses on 
them, and at last we felt that we could really say we had 
seen our first buffalo. We could see the humps plainly, 
and could see how low they carried their heads as they 
went on in their tireless, lumbering gallop. There were 
only three — a cow, a yearling, and a calf. We were half- 
frantic to get at them, but Mr. Jones refused to tire the 
horses by a chase after so small a number, and much to 
our regret we drove on. Were we then indeed upon the 
buffalo range ? we asked. Were those indeed Inift'alo, and 
had we indeed — we, who had longed all our lives to see a 
buffalo — seen these real, wild ones ? Then rose the ques- 
tion, Would we see any more ? When we thought of that, 
we begged Colonel Jones to turn Ijack, and at one time 
nearly persuaded him to do so; but he assured us we 
would see plenty more. 

We crossed Tepee creek, finding some water in pools 
near the trail. Beyond that, the first water was the 



LIFE OX THE PLAINS 



127 







'<^ :s K^>,>tVt.'^ 



SCENES ON THE JOURNEY 




128 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Noi'th Fork of the Canadian, here known as the Beaver; 
and as we were now assured that there was enough along 
the trail for our cattle, we pushed on across to the latter 
stream, and took dinner at the "Anchor D " ranch, pretty 
near the " jumping-oflf place " of the world, it being close 
to the south line of the Neutral Strip and the north line 
of Texas. On the range, the different cattle outfits are 
known only by their l)rands, and a man's ranch goes by 
the name of his brand, and not by his name. Thus we 
had heard of the " 0-X " ranch, the " T_V Bar" ranch, 
etc., etc., but had no idea as to who owned 
them. We found that the "AnchorD " brand 
belonged to E. C. Dudley, of Boston, who 
has about 15,000 head of cattle on this southern ranch, 
and about as many more on his ranch in Wyoming. Mr. 
Dudley was not at home; but we ate his bread and bacon 
just the same. 

We were now about one hundred and fifty miles from 
our starting-point, well down to where we might expect 
to see or hear of the l)uft'aloes ; but, though we made in- 
quiry at the ranch, we could get no news of the herd. 
They might V)e at a point known as "Company M," or 
down on the Agua Frio, or there might be water enough 
along the San Francisco to hold them, or they might be 
out on the Flats, at some water-hole known only to them- 
selves: nobody seemed to know. We were not surprised 
at the seeming ignorance, for we knew that the cattlemen 
would not tell us of the herd if they were within ten miles 
of us ; and Colonel Jones says he always finds buffalo in 
the opposite direction from that advised to go. Such 
perquisites as pertain to calf-hunting, the cowboys usu- 
ally prefer to retain for themselves ; besides, seeing in all 
visitors possible forerunners of the dreaded "grangers," 
the cattlemen are reticent on that account, and will, if 
possible, send a man out of the country as ignorant as he 
came in, and devoid of even the knowledge of the " lay of 
the land" which a buffalo-hunt would give him. There- 



BUFFALO SIGHTED IN THE DISTANCE 129 

fore our leader was not in the least put out l)y this gen- 
eral "blankness" in regard to the l)ulfalo, and announced 
to us his intention of making at once for the headwaters 
of the Beaver. 

We were now perhaps thirty miles in advance of the slow- 
moving heavy wagon, but instructions had been left for 
the boys to take our trail up the Beaver, and to shape 
their course for the upper pools of that stream, and there 
pitch the main camp while we were scouting for the herd 
with our lighter vehicle. We had with us two extra 
running-horses, — the gray, and the ])ay mare "Jennie." 
The black runner was hitched in with a heavy mate at the 
buggy. We had also plenty of hobbles for tying the calves 
if caught, and young Carter was with us in the buggy, 
ready for work if the herd should ])e sighted. 

We crowded the horses up the trail until it left the 
breaks of the Beaver, then drove out on the high prairies. 
We spun across a great expanse, picked our way across the 
North Fork of the Beaver, and swung off to the left, head- 
ing for the upper pools of the main stream, which we knew 
were dry above a certain point, twenty miles up. All the 
time, the glasses were kept in play, and nothing within 
ten miles escaped us. 

The sun was getting well on in his last quarter, and we 
were trundling along just at the edge of the breaks of 
the South Fork, when our eyes were caught by a cloud of 
dust rising from the other side of a little ridge. We 
snatched up the glasses. The cloud came nearer. It 
was approaching. It swung up over the crest. Huge, 
black forms — twenty — thirty — fifty — sixty — rolled and 
surged along with it, heading almost toward us. No need 
of glasses now. Our tongues " froze stiff " over the com- 
mon thought, until, a second later, our leader sprang 
clear of the buggy at a single bound, and shouted in a 
voice like a bugle — 

"Get out the horses I They 're buffalo, )iy Jupiter! 
Give me the lasso! " 
— 9 



130 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

That they were indeed buffalo, every drop of blood in 
our veins was attesting. On they came — huge, rolling 
black hulks enveloped in a circling cloud of dust. A 
grand "view halloa" burst from us as they passed. 
They were running strung out in line, buffalo-fashion, 
and square into the wind. They must have scented us, 
and obviously had first taken fright when, at a distance 
of three-quarters of a mile or more, they had "got the 
wind" of us; but they paid no attention to us as they 
held on their mad and headlong flight. They passed 
within three hundred yards, bearing to the left; we could 
easily have shot into them if desired. 

How vanished every ache, pain, and thought of weari- 
ness ! It was not ground we touched, nor hot air we 
breathed. We were not creatures hampered with flesh and 
b>lood, but borne up on the wings of the hunter's exalta- 
tion. The very horses snorted and tugged at their ropes. 
The greyhound flashed out like an arrow from a bow, and, 
laying a cunning angle for himself, ran into the herd 
almost at once, where he worried at a yearling, until 
kicked and beaten out of the dust-cloud ; and realizing 
that the game was too large for him, he ran back to the 
team and fairly begged us to come on. 

The horses were nearly ready. At the first flash of con- 
viction every man was on the ground, and tugging at the 
•load to get out the calf-hobbles, — which of course were at 
the bottom of the wagon. Then a saddle had to be im- 
provised; a lasso got tangled up, and a bridle was lost 
just as it was needed. The horses were not saddled, or 
even bridled, for we were not expecting buffaloes so soon. 
Everything had to be done in a moment. Colonel Jones, 
for an old buffalo-hunter, showed himself at least free 
from all stoicism, and was fairly wild to get into the 
chase. Never was change in a man's demeanor more sud- 
den. His eyes were riveted on the flying dust-cloud, and 
he tightened up his saddle-cinch instinctively and without 
looking at it. But if everything had to be done quickly, 



IN PURBUIT OF THE HERD 131 

everything was quickly done, and away flashed the two 
riders, coiling up the long lassos as the horses ran. 

The third running-horse could not be spared from the 
team, as the wagon must follow the chase to pick up the 
calves. Ricker and myself therefore remained for that 
duty. We bundled the disordered baggage back into the 
wagon, sprang on top of it, and whipped off in pursuit, 
going at the wildest rate I ever tried on wheels, and bound 
to "get there" if the running-gear held together. The 
wagon jumped over dog-holes, hummocks and sinks, and 
the springs clashed together at every bound ; but we man- 
aged to hold on some way, — can't tell how, — and laid the 
team flat down in our determination to be in with the 
crowd . 

Short as the time of preparation had been, the herd had 
passed, and was over a mile away before the riders started. 
Yet Colonel Jones, after the first burst of racing-speed, 
held back the paCe, and galloped easily on in the rear of 
the herd, restraining the eagerness of the bay mare Jen- 
nie to close in on the herd. Let it not be supposed that 
all horses are able to close in at once with these animals. 
There are few horses which can do so at all. The buffalo 
appears clumsy, even when in motion, but its actual speed 
is surprising, and it holds its gait wonderfully well. In 
running its action is not stift'-legged, like that of a cow, 
which places her hind feet directly in the print of the front 
ones ; but to the contrary, the buffalo spreads the hind feet 
well apart, like a horse, and throws them clear in front of 
the fore feet, hurling its great body on in a style not un- 
like that of the racer. The apparent clumsiness of the 
gait probably arises from the large hump, and from the 
fact that the buffalo always runs with its nose almost 
against the ground. The hind feet come up almost on 
either side of the nose when the animal is at full speed. 
When running together in large numbers their speed is 
materially reduced, and it is then that a horseman can 
most easily approach them. A cow and her calf, alone 



132 



FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 











GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE CHASE 133 

and at a distance from the herd, would say good-bye to al- 
most any horse, with a start of a quarter of a mile. Calves 
a month old appear to run about as well as the older ani- 
mals. 

But all this time my companion and I were not in- 
dulging in abstractions, but were trying to overtake ' 
the riders. All at once the herd disappeared over a 
ridge. Then the cloud of dust appeared over the top, 
and began swinging off to the right. Like a flash the 
conduct of the riders changed. With a common impulse 
they leaned forward in the saddles. The horses sprang 
forward at four times their original speed, and making an 
angle of forty-five degrees to their former course, they 
swept off to the right, across our track, sailed — flew — 
drifted up along the ridge ; topped it; disappeared. Half 
a mile was saved ; and we knew the run was on just be- 
yond the ridge. How we crossed the intervening space I 
do not know, but in a moment we were over the hill, and' 
making sharp to the right on the other side, — tearing 
down to where we could see the horsemen leaping into 
the very edge of the blinding cloud. Colonel Jones and 
"Jennie" were ahead; the mare seemed to fly. The 
sight was a grand one. With head well down and nos- 
trils wide, the bay beauty tore in on them, eager as her 
rider, and was never once called on with the spur. She 
crowded into the dust, into the herd, pushed out from it 
a cow and calf, and lay alongside of them in her stride. 
Then we saw her rider lean forward. Up came his hand, 
circling the wide coil of the rope. We could almost hear 
it whistle through the air. The next instant out it flew. 
In a flash the dust was gone, and there was Colonel Jones 
kneeling on top of a struggling little tawny object, while 
Jennie stood by looking on complacently. A second later 
the little object was hobbling around upon the grass alone ; 
Colonel Jones was following young Carter now, and we 
were making for the calf. The herd at once swept out of 
sight, and we of course saw no more of it, for we were 



134 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

busy with the captive, and had no more fortunate angles 
offered to save distance. 

We drove up to the first victim. He was a comical- 
looking, round-headed, curly little rascal; we laughed 
when approaching him. The first thing he did was to 
utter a hoarse bawl, and charge at us with head down. 
In doing this, of course the hobble tripped him, and he 
turned a somersault. Before he could recover, we sat 
down on top of him — the first buffalo calf we had ever 
seen. We found that he was secured in precisely the best 
and most effectual way that could have been devised. The 
hobble was made of several strands of untwisted rope. At 
the middle it was tied in a large loop, which was slipped 
over the calf's head; the two loose ends — which were left 
of just that length which experience told was right — were 
slip-noosed. These loops were fastened just above each 
hind foot, where they sat tight on the pastern joint, and 
drew the tighter for each struggle the calf made to free 
itself. Thus shackled, the captive was unable to make any 
progress, but at the same time was not choked, or held in 
any way calculated to injure it. This was the system of 
calf-hobbling devised after the experience of other hunts. 
Of course, the adjusting of the hobble took but an instant ; 
and that was necessary, for even after the delay of a min- 
ute the herd would gain ground enough to make it hard to 
overtake. 

As we afterwards learned. Carter and the gray horse got 
into the edge of the herd easily enough, l)ut the horse could 
not be pushed in close enough for roping-distance, as he 
was afraid of the buffalo. Carter spurred and "quirted" 
him in vain; he was just the same old "gray devil," and 
needed the " stay-chain." Carter was furious at his in- 
ability to reach a calf. Colonel Jones again passed him, 
and went into the herd within two miles of the place 
where the first calf was caught. He missed his cast at the 
next calf, but the mare did not stop. As she ran along- 
side of the now angry animal. Colonel Jones stooped down 



cow FIGHTS TO THE DEATH 135 

and caught it by the tail, turning it heels over head, and 
before it could rise the Colonel was on top, held it in his 
arms, and then hobl)led it. This was a large bull calf, 
the largest taken on the entire hunt, and he made a big 
fight after his fall. It was not difficult to turn him over 
by the tail, — for the largest Texas steer can be thrown 
headlong l)y a horseman in the same manner, while at full 
speed. But the calf was like a basketful of eels to hold. 

The last calf was caught by Carter, who roped it neatly 
as Colonel Jones cut it out of the herd and turned it to- 
Avard him. This was a fine heifer calf, and was apparently 
the idol of her mother's heart, for the latter came very 
near making a casualty the price of the capture. As soon 
as the calf was roped, the cow left the herd and charged on 
Carter viciously as he bent over his victim. Seeing the 
danger, Colonel Jones rode up just in time, and drove the 
cow off for a moment; but she returned again and again, 
and finally began charging at him whenever he came near: 
so that, much as he regretted it, he was compelled to shoot 
her with his revolver, killing her almost instantly. This 
was an unwished result, and was much deplored, for we 
came, not to slay, but to rescue. 

After this last aft'air was over, both rode on after the 
herd, which was by this time far toward the darkening 
horizon. The horses were now well "blown," for they 
had run in on the herd not only once, twice, but three 
times, and had gone a distance of eight or ten miles from 
the start. Colonel Jones soon pulled up, and turned Ijack 
to find the wagon ; but Carter was angry at his horse, and 
followed the herd until upon its flanks, though he could 
not get the gray within roping-distance. The horse came 
back pretty well "winded," and with Carter swearing at 
him for a coward. In the meantime my companion and 
I had, by dint of severe exertion, got the first calf tied up 
more firmly and secured in the light wagon, where it re- 
quired all of our strength to keep it until we devised the 
plan of piling the heavy tent upon it. We then drove 



186 FORTY YEAR8 OF ADVENTURES 

on along the trail, using the glass all the time to sight the 
next captive, — which we presently did, at a distance of 
over a mile from us. We repeated our tactics here, having 
a great time with this big fellow; then drove on, meeting 
Colonel Jones before we got to the last calf. Part of the 
time we had not kept to the trail, 1)ut had cut across the 
curves the herd made, depending on the glass to locate any 
calf that might be left. As it was possible and quite easy 
to miss seeing so small an ol)ject at such long distances, 
we were glad to learn that we had found all that had been 
caught. 

It was nearly dark Ijy the time we had the last calf in 
the wagon, and as soon as Carter came up, all started 
back toward the Beaver. "We could not camp, for we had 
no water, and the horses needed it sadly. As there was 
none elsewhere within twenty miles, it will be seen how 
absolutely necessary it was that we find the river. It 
should be remembered that this river had no water in it, 
except at certain places ; and we did not yet know where 
those places were. We might have to drive twenty miles 
after getting to the river-bed, and might have to travel 
nearly that far in trying to get down through the breaks 
which fenced in the stream. All this was pretty near to 
being serious ; but it was one of the exigencies of buffalo- 
hunting, — so we said nothing, but turned in the direc- 
tion where we knew the stream lay, and ran by the 
compass and the stars, driving in darkness which grew 
more dense at every moment. If our leader had been a 
man inexperienced on the Plains, or unacquainted with 
the general lay of the country, we would have had a dry 
camp that night, and would in all probability have lost 
our calves, to say nothing of any possible discomfiture to 
ourselves, or injury to our horses. 

In an hour or so we came to the edge of the breaks, 
and began to hunt a way down through them. Ricker 
and Carter rode off to the right, while Colonel Jones 
drove a little to the left. We noticed that all the trails 



SEARCHING FOR WATER IN THE DARKNESS 187 

appeared to converge at the head of a certain draw, and 
after driving across them till that fact was established, 
we knew that they led to water. We therefore followed 
down this draw, and fired signals for the boys to come in. 
Presently we heard Carter fire, he having got out on a 
point at our left. We called to him, and he found his 
way down into the draw. Ricker had not come in, and 
did not answer any signal ; so, fearing he was lost. Carter 
went back after him. Colonel Jones and myself, follow- 
ing the draw, presently got into the valley and found wa- 
ter. There was not much, and it was tramped up by 
cattle and had several dead carcasses in it ; but still it 
was water, and we were glad to find it. 

By the time we had the horses out, and the baggage on 
the ground, Ricker and Carter got into camp, the former 
insisting that he was one of the sort that didn't get lost. 
We all fell to and proceeded to water the horses and get 
camp up. We found there was no axe or hatchet with us, 
but were lucky enough to find a hard stone, with which 
we drove our tent-pins — for it looked like rain, and we 
concluded to pitch the tent. We had no coffee-mill ; but 
an old buffalo-skull, a bit of canvas and the stone served 
instead. 

Presently the clouds broke, and the southern moon 
peeped out brightly. It revealed another pool of water 
below us, and we could see a bunch of ducks upon it. As 
we had not stopped to butcher our buffalo, we had no 
meat ; so Ricker took, his three-barrel and shot four 
ducks, which Ez. fished out with his lasso. When we 
went down to the water we heard something flopping in 
it, and discovered that it was fairly alive with bullhead 
fish. We therefore supposed that the running water 
could not be very far away. A search soon revealed 
that a succession of pools began a short distance l)elow 
our camp. While investigating this matter, a plowed 
furrow, running down near to the bank of the stream, 
caught Colonel Jones's attention, and following it up he 



138 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

found a little patch of Ijreakiiig, a dugout, and a well. 
He knew then that we were at Lee Howard's cabin, on 
the ver}^ headwaters of the Beaver, in the Neutral Strip 
("No Man's Land"). Howard is a half-hunter, half- 
freighter, and half-ranchman, who has squatted on this 
claim, away out of the world. The water will make him 
rich some day. 

The owner of the dugout was not at home, but we got 
some good water at his well, and helped ourselves to a 
" Dutch oven," a hammer, a piece of kindling-wood, and 
a few other things wdiich we found lying around, and 
which we thought would do more good at our camp than 
where they were. Then, as our little fire of " chips " was 
going nicely, Ez. soon had some bread baking, the coffee- 
pot simmering, and some liacon and skinned teal sizzling 
in the frying-pan. Our stove was a l)uifalo-skull, and our 
shovel a shoulder-blade. No Man's Land is entirely de- 
void of timber, and even of small sticks. 

While we were getting supper and arranging the tent, 
Colonel Jones was busy with the calves. Taking a long rope, 
he stretched it along the ground, fastening the ends to two 
strong tent-pins, driven to the head in the ground. On 
this rope he strung his calves, like fish on a trot-line, each 
calf being tied by the neck, and with its limbs left free. 
This arrangement gave them plenty of play and kept them 
from injury, while at the same time it rendered their es- 
cape impossible. The little fellows were vigorous and full 
of fight, and whenever anyone came near they would lower 
their heads and come at him with a short bawl. We 
amused ourselves by pushing each other upon them, and 
found by experience that they could butt hard enough to 
knock a man entirely off his feet. They spent most of 
their time standing with head down, back humped up, 
and tail cocked out, pawing the ground for all the world 
like an old bull, and from time to time uttering short, 
hoarse bawls, which sounded much more like the grunt of 
a hog than the bleat of a calf. 




LEE HOWARD. 




CHARLES RUDE. 



WATCHING THE CAPTIVES 139 

Interested in the actions of our strange and wild little 
captives, we sat beside them after supper until a late hour. 
Then we rolled up in our Ijlankets and went to sleep, tell- 
ing each other that we were the luckiest fellows in all the 
world. 



CHAPTER IX 



SECOND GALF-HUNT (Continued) 

MILKING A BUFFALO COW — EXCELLENT BUTTER CAUSED BY 
THE JOSTLE OF THE WAGON — DOMESTIC COWlS ARRIVE — 
LONG MARCH TO THE SOUTHWEST COLONEL JONES MI- 
RACULOUSLY CAPTURES A CALF " TENDERFEET " AFTER 

BUFFALO BULLS TOOK TWO TO KILL ONE, AND THEN 

didn't KILL HIM CLOUD OF SMOKE PROVED TO BE 

DUST "the herd! the herd!" COLONEL JONES 

NEVER LOST, BY DAY OR NIGHT " GET DOWN AND 

crawl" — BUFFALO IN CAMP — THE COLONEL AWAY, BUT 
HOLES ARE CUT IN HIS TENT THROUGH WHICH TO SHOOT, 

JUST THE SAME CALF-HUNTERS RETURN TO CAMP IN A 

DEPLORABLE CONDITION HORSES LEFT TO DIE PLENTY 

OF CALVES, BUT NO WATER — TENDERFEET NOT SATISFIED 
— WANTED ANOTHER TRIAL, THEN ANOTHER 

EARLY on the morning of the 14th of May we were 
astir and preparing for the day's work. We could 
not expect the main outfit up until the following 
day, and feared we would lose all our calves before 
it arrived, for we had not a cow with us, of course, and 
not even a can of condensed milk. It was decided to 
lasso a range cow, and milk her by force; but at that 
early hour no cattle had yet come in to water, and there 
were none in sight among the breaks. All that could be 
done, therefore, was to try to induce our panting and suf- 
fering little captives to drink of the water which we 
offered them ; but they refused to be comforted, and in- 

(140) 



BUTTER FROM MILK OF A BUFFALO COW 141 

dignantly butted the waterpail endways whenever it was 
left near them, or charged headlong at a wet rag or a stick. 

Colonel Jones concluded to go out on the range and try 
to find the herd again, then to return, and in the even- 
ing either rope a range cow, or drive down in the night 
to meet our team and get some condensed milk to keep 
the calves alive until the domestic cows would arrive. 
Accordingly, he, Ricker and Carter started out with all 
the horses, directly after breakfast. It fell to my lot to 
remain and guard the camj) — a duty which, in view of a 
possible buffalo-chase, I did not relish very much. 

At three o'clock our scouting-party returned. They had 
not found the herd, but had met two buffalo cows, un- 
doubtedly the mothers of the captured calves, whose ma- 
ternal instinct had led them to return in search of their 
offspring. One cow was killed for meat ; her udder was 
full of milk, and as there was no water to be had, the 
Colonel concluded to fill a canteen with the precious fluid, 
as the day was very hot. After milking the canteen about 
half-full he corked it up and tossed it into the spring 
wagon. After about two hours of travel he concluded to 
take a drink, but the fluid would not come out, and he 
concluded there must be a dead mouse or some kind of 
trash in the can. By close observation it was discovered 
the jostling of the wagon had churned the milk into but- 
ter, which was as solid and yellow as that of the best Jersey 
right from the creamery, and satisfactory in quantity, — 
all of which was left in the can until the camp was reached, 
when it was extracted, salted, and we had one grand feast 
of hot biscuits and buffalo butter. The wonderful rich- 
ness of the milk and deliciousness of the butter nerved 
our leader up in his endeavors to domesticate this valu- 
able animal. 

During the day a great scope of country had been cov- 
ered, but no further signs of buffalo were found, and no 
water could be discovered anywhere. The flats were en- 
tirely dry. It was a problem where the buffalo could be. 



142 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Colonel Jones now started down the Beaver to meet the 
team, giving neither himself nor his horses any rest, — 
for it was imperative that we get milk, or we would lose 
our calves. The little fellows l)egan to look gaunt, their 
tongues black and swollen, hanging from their mouths, 
while they continually uttered their hoarse, groaning 
grunts of complaint. The remainder of the party began 
to move the camp up nearer to the edge of the bluff, 
where the stench of the decaying carcasses which lay in 
the water would be less unendural)le. The weather in 
the daytime was very warm, though the nights in that 
country are always cool. 

A couple of hours after dark we heard re]3eated halloos 
and shots. We replied, and soon heard voices of our own 
party, and knew that l>y some unprecedentedly good gen- 
eralship they had succeeded in getting the cows in, — a 
full day earlier than they could reasonably be expected. 
It happened that Colonel Jones went down just in time, 
for if he had not met them they would have kept on up 
the flats, and passed our camp, to wander no one knew 
how far into the waterless country. 

Everything was now confusion in camp. We had a 
great many animals to take care of, and it necessitated 
work. The cows had all to ]je lassoed and hobbled — a 
matter which they always resented; the horses to be wa- 
tered; supper to cook, and a hundred other things to be 
done. One of the first of these duties was the feeding of 
the buffalo calves ; and this was one of the most interest- 
ing features of the whole hunt. Ez. roped a certain old 
red cow, of about as near the right color as any we had, 
and hobbled her securely fore and aft; then we picked 
out the youngest calf, and approached — the little fellow 
butting and fighting viciously. The cow turned her head, 
and promptly kicked so hard she broke the hobble and 
sent the calf a somersault to begin with. This did not 
daunt it, however, and it returned, seeming to take in the 
situation at a glance. It was strange, but after a few 



BUFFALO CALF ADOPTED BY DOMESTIC COW 143 

moments this cow and l)iiffalo calf seemed to "take to " 
each other. The ))est of rehitions were established be- 
tween them, and within an hour the curly little rascr.l 
was lying down by the side of his new mother, chuck full 
of milk, and "happy as a clam." This calf was never 
wild after that, but could be approached easily, and was 
perfectly docile. In the morning we let it loose near the 
cow, and it followed her al)out, kicking up its heels and 
bawling out of very exu))erance of spirits. The next day 
after, the cows were hobbled and the calves' lariats were 
allowed to drag loose; yet they never made any attempt 
to escape — even under certain strange circumstances 
(which will afterward be described). To-day the "lit- 
tle "' calf is the tamest on Colonel Jones's ranch, and the 
"old red stripper" (as she is called, for she has had no 
calf of her own for three years) is its devoted mother. 
This cow took a great notion to all the buffalo calves, and 
would allow two of them to suckle at once, though she 
would drive off a domestic calf. The buffaloes were em- 
phatic, imperious little scamps, and she seemed to take a 
fancy to them. 

The other calves gave some trouble. They did not take 
kindly to the white cow which was introduced to them as 
their stepmother, nor did she to them. One of the calves 
preferred a l)eer-bottle, covered with a rag ; while the last 
one, the l)ig Inill calf, would drink from nothing but a 
bucket — though he made a very good supper in that way. 
And, it may not be l)elieved, but it is true, he would never 
afterward drink out of any l)ut that particular pail, which 
happened to be painted white outside and in. If any 
other was offered him, he would l)utt it over at once, and 
prance around, pawing at the dirt, until some one would 
call out, " Give him the white pail !" The scenes of that 
night and of the succeeding days, in trying to teach the 
buffalo calves to assume their new relations, were full of 
action and spirit, and went to make up a history of inter- 
esting experiences that never can be duplicated. 



144 



FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 




LONG MARCH TO THE SOUTHWEST 145 

It was late when our camp sank to rest that night. 
The following day was the Sabbath, and we rested, with 
exception of the "artist fellow," who made some draw- 
ings in and about the camp. 

The next day we started for "Company M," a certain 
water-hole situated in a valley, where, years ago, a Com- 
pany M of U. S. troops were snowed in and spent the 
winter. In the natural caves where they were mostly 
quartered there can be seen to-day numerous names cut 
into the rock, and also loopholes which they made when 
fighting the Indians. "Company M" is near the west 
boundary of No Man's Land. There is no house or ranch 
there, and none nearer than the cabin at our camp; yet 
hundreds of cattle water at the scanty seepage of the sandy 
river-bed. Somebody will get rich there, some day. 

We drove to Comjjany M with both wagons, taking all 
the horses but one, and plenty of supplies for a week's 
trip. We left the bulk of our load at the home camp, 
covered by the cook-tent. All the cows were also left, 
and also the buffalo calves. The duty of taking care of 
the home camp f.nd all the stock devolved upon Robin- 
son, who was told unceremoniously not to be surprised if 
we did not get back in a week, or if we did n't get back 
at all. 

We drove between fifty and sixty miles that day, and 
having a late start, did not all reach Company M until 
nine o'clock at night. We found but little water, but 
dug a hole in the sand, and got enough for our use. Out 
of all the fresh meat we had killed, we had brought none 
with us, and lived on salt pork until, the day following, 
we shot a cottontail rabbit or two with rifles, and with 
the shotgun killed a lot of the big sickle-billed curlews 
which were so numerous there. We did not kill any ante- 
lope at this water, although Ricker and I, who kept camp 
together, did some brilliant missing at them. They often 
came in, and if it had not been so hot, and we so lazy, we 
— 10 



146 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

could have gotten one on any clay. Ricker killed a 
coyote, but we did not eat it. 

For two days the light wagon scoured the country for 
fifty miles round about, traveling hard and diligently in 
a most energetic though fruitless effort to find some trace 
of the herd. On one day three buffaloes were seen, but 
none with calves ; so they were not followed. As in all 
this time powerful field-glasses were in use, it may be 
seen that the buffaloes were very, very few in that coun- 
try. We began to be discouraged — all except our leader, 
whose resolve to " find the herd " seemed never to flag. 

One morning we were wakened 1)y a grand coyote chorus, 
and before daylight had breakfast over. Just as the sun 
was rising we saw a little bunch of animals slowly walk- 
ing toward us, about two miles distant, and on the other 
side of a wire fence. We turned the glasses on them. They 
looked like buffaloes. We studied them. They looked 
wonderfully like buffaloes. We divided in our opinions. 
Colonel Jones thought they were buffaloes ; but we did 
not wonder at that, because, being "Buffalo Jones," he 
thought everj^thing he saw was a buffalo. Ez. didn't 
know; Charley didn't care; Ricker was not certain; I 
knew all the time they were only cattle. Finally, Colo- 
nel Jones fired a shot over toward them from his rifle. At 
once they strung out into line and tailed off', as hard as 
they could go. Cattle do not run at the sound of a gun ; 
buffaloes always do — that is a habit acquired since they 
have been hunted so much. 

In a moment Colonel Jones and Ez. were in saddles and 
racing ahead, with Ricker and myself a good second in the 
light wagon, and Charley following with the mule team. 
We all got across the wire fence, I don't know just how, 
and followed after the dust-cloud. The wagons were far 
behind, when, after a half-hour's ])reathless drive, we saw 
a horseman appear on the crest of a distant ridge, and he 
gave us the Plains signal to "Come ahead," — which is 
done by riding at right angles to those called if mounted. 



CAPTURE ANOTHER CALF 147 

or by repeatedly rising and squatting down if one is on 
foot. We hurried on, and soon by the ghxss made out the 
figure to be Carter, and saw that he had at the end of his 
lasso a lively red object which we knew to be another buf- 
falo calf. Ez. came riding down on a gallop, the calf 
running parallel, with the rope stretched tightly. This 
was the curliest calf caught on the trip, and a fine prize 
she was. 

Ez. had lost his hat, and we learned that Colonel Jones 
had gone back along the trail to find it and his field-glass, 
which had been lost in the chase — both of which were 
found. The calf caught was the only one in the herd, 
and there were but a dozen buffaloes all told — all cows. 

The calf was caught under rather peculiar circum- 
stances. Both horsemen were crowding it; Colonel Jones 
cast for it, but it dodged the noose, and ran square in 
front of his horse. The latter ran against it, and both 
fell, knocking the calf fully fifteen feet away, and throw- 
ing Colonel Jones headlong. The latter — according to 
his version — was satisfied, as he passed through the air, 
that the fall would kill him ; but concluded that it would 
l^e as well to go into another world with a calf in his arms 
as in any other way. He therefore, either by chance or 
by Providence, fell directly on top of the calf, caught it 
in his arms, and held on until Carter roped it. It was a 
ludicrous and altogether lucky accident. Neither man, 
horse nor calf seemed to be much injured. 

We bundled the calf into the l)ig wagon, and headed 
northeast in the direction of our main camp, through ter- 
rible sandhills, which made rapid travel impossible. The 
day was vevj warm. We gave the horses all the water 
left, and started on with many misgivings. We were on 
the opposite side of the Beaver from that on which we 
had come up, and the stream made a big ))end to the 
south, around which we had to travel. Besides, other 
streams made into it (all dry, of course), and as the 
breaks along these are often impassable for some distance 



148 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

up and down, we did not know how far we might have to 
travel. 

We paid little attention to game that day, although we 
saw a great many antelopes and wolves, but did not 
stop — except to kill a rattlesnake or two, which we 
skinned as we rode along. 

We did not stop for dinner, but spent our time trying 
to find out where we were. And, thanks to fortune and 
hard driving, we at last got up to a little mesa which was 
familiar, and soon thereafter struck a trail and better 
country for traveling. We were truly thankful that our 
leader was not a " tenderfoot " ; for such had best not go 
hunting in that country, unless he wants to die crazy, and 
bleach his bones among the sandhills. 

At last we saw a bold front of rock, bearing on its brow 
a little monument or pyramid. (On the other side of the 
valley was a large gray wolf looking wistfully at our 
camp.) This we knew was the "Tepee Rock," which 
stood just above our camp. (These "tepee rocks" — so 
called from their shape, and are made of stoiies or large 
blocks of sod — are signs built up by wild-horse hunters, 
to mark the vicinity of water, and plainsmen steer for 
them when thirsty.) In a few moments Ave came out 
upon a ridge, and our white tent lay before us, a thin 
blue shaft of smoke piercing the sultry evening air, and 
saying somewhat of supper when we should be cool. The 
water-pool shone in the evening sun, and the cattle were 
grazing about it or lying near. Our jaded horses pitched 
their ears forward, and actually broke into a trot. The 
long and wearisome day was over. 

The mule team, with Charley and Ez., came in late. 
We were thankful that the day had been no worse. Dur- 
ing our absence one of the calves had died — the only 
heifer calf we had, and therefore most valued, of course. 
This made us feel sad ; so on the whole it was rather a de- 
moralized crowd of hunters that gathered around our late 
su])per that night. 



IN PURSUIT OF BUFFALO BULLB 149 

After the disastrous march from Company M it became 
necessary to lie in camp to rest the horses, which were 
well-nigh broken down under the severe tasks which had 
been imposed upon them. 

One afternoon the camp was out of meat, and Colonel 
Jones started out to stalk some antelopes he saw coming 
in. He followed them up into the breaks north of the 
river, and we heard him shoot. Then presently we saw 
him coming on a dead run, and with an expression on his 
face which made us think he had stirred up a bunch of 
Indians. We sat up and looked at him. He bolted for 
the nearest saddle, slung it over the black runner, and 
called out : 

" Get out the horses, boys I Four bulls just ran out on 
the other side when I shot ! " 

In a moment Ricker was astride of bay Jennie and I of 
the gray canterer. Colonel Jones's face bearing a look of 
grim happiness. Calling out to the boys to follow with 
the light wagon, he turned to us and said : 

"Now, boys, you 're going to have that shot at a bull 
which I have been promising you." 

We wanted to go a little faster, then. Colonel Jones 
rode ahead through the Ijreaks, and found the trail. The 
bulls had not yet reached the water, and ran when he shot 
at the antelope. The fact of their running while all the 
cattle stood still ( the valley was full of cattle at that 
hour) was what had attracted his attention. The shot 
might therefore be called a lucky one. After a time the 
trail was found, and our leader cautiously followed it up 
through the breaks, not knowing how far the game had 
run. At last he gave us the signal to come on, and we 
galloped up to the top of the level country. There, four 
miles ahead, running into the wind, and looming up as 
large as churches in the streaming mirage which sur- 
rounded them, were four huge objects — the buffalo bulls 1 
Down we leaned in the saddles, and with rifles tightly 
clutched under our knees and reins loose on the horses' 



150 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

necks, away we flew in pursuit. The horses ran beauti- 
fully together, the little gray doing wonders, and seeming 
to know that it would be unfortunate for him to tarry by 
the wayside at that particular hour. 

The bulls were running directly from us, and neither 
saw nor winded us. After a time they slackened their 
pace, and then fell into a walk. 

"See! See! They're going to feed, I do believe!" 
cried our leader. 

Presently they began to sink low and lower down from 
our sight. They were going over a ridge. "Quick! 
Ride!" the Colonel called out; and in a moment we were 
racing into a long, low draw which made off to the left. 
Here we straightened up in the saddles and rode hard to 
get in before the bulls came in sight. 

But they did not come in sight. They were feeding. 
Closer and closer we bore in, and finally stopped at the 
edge of the ridge where they had disappeared. In a prov- 
idential little hollow we left the horses, throwing the 
bridle-reins over their heads ; and then we crawled up, 
parted a little clump of grass, and one at a time took a 
look at those huge, black, shaggy, grand-looking animals. 
It seemed like a dream. People had said the buffalo were 
gone. I had never hoped to see one thus. Yet those great 
creatures standing there, lying there, grazing there — 
those were l)uffalo ; and yet we were — we! The thought 
was preposterous. It could not be true! 

A grim smile was on Colonel Jones's face. 

"Five hundred yards," said he; "we'll stalk them." 
Was the man mad ? They could not be over one hundred 
yards away. And how could one stalk anything on that 
flat floor of a country, where you could see a man ten 
miles in any other direction? — and we could get no 
closer. 

But now the skill of the old buffalo-hunter began to 
assert itself. We found he knew more in a minute than 
we did in all the rest of the year. We made a big circle 



STALKING THE BUFFALOES 151 

back and away from our horses, and got the wind to suit 
us ; crawled over a ridge into another draw we had not 
seen ; foUowed it up half a mile ; squirmed over another 
ridge ; worked this way and that, lying flat out much of 
the time, and growing fearfully warm in the hot sun ; and 
finally, after three-quarters of an hour of hard work, we 
found we were some two or three hundred yards nearer 
the game. 

Then, with all possible care, we laid ourselves flat along 
the earth, and inch b}^ inch crept up to the edge of the 
shallow little basin in which the bulls were standing. 
Long before this we had pushed the cartridges into the 
barrels of the repeaters, dreading the rattle of the levers 
if we should load close to the game; now, fearing even 
the tick of the lock, we pushed our guns ahead of us as we 
crawled. Inch by inch, through five long minutes, we 
worked for the clump of sagebrush where we must stop. 
We reached it. " Breathe a little," softly whispered our 
leader. We breathed a little — mighty little, I did* It 
was very warm. Not a man of us appeared excited, how- 
ever, and we coolly arranged the plan of the attack. 

" Both of you fire at the big bull on the right,"' whis- 
pered Colonel Jones, "and I'll kill the one standing on 
the left." 

Ricker and I whispered an objection. We did not wish 
to shoot at the same bull. We wanted to get a head 
apiece, and each be sure he had killed his own. 

" But don't you see," was the reply, " that only two are 
standing right? I'll give one of you the head I kill. 
You go ahead; it '11 take both of you to kill your bull — 
and then you won't get him ! " 

We demurred; but what he said was true. One bull 
was lying down and the fourth was standing with his head 
square away from us. A moment later, the two big bulls 
advanced directly toward us. They were grand-looking 
fellows, but how ferocious they looked, with their great 
heads all covered with shaggy mane 1 Slowly they swung 
round; they stood right. 



152 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

"Whist!" hissed out our leader. Then, according to 
the agreement, Ricker felt for his aim, and Mr. Jones be- 
gan to count. "One." I was dead on the bull's lungs. 
" Two." My elbow trembled. We were all lying flat on 
our stomachs. Oh, horrors! I had swung clear off, and 
it was time for "Three." Bang! went Ricker's shot. 
The bulls wheeled. I caught hair'on my ivory front sight 
at the instant, and bang! went mine. Bang! came Colo- 
nel Jones's, very late. On one knee, now, each of us 
turned down the lever as fast as he could catch sight, and 
spilt a pile of empty 45 shells in front of him. Our bull 
was acting groggy. A second bull pulled his left hind leg 
heavily. The elevations grew, climbed. Some of the 
shots cut dust, and some did not. The bulls were get- 
ting away in spite of us. The shots grew less frequent. 
Colonel Jones explained how, at his first shot, the lever 
of his gun had been prevented from driving up the safety- 
bolt by sand getting into the little groove, and when he 
pulled the trigger the bolt held it and the hammer did 
not fall. The bulls were still going. But see! — one is 
getting sick. He is reeling. They pass a little ridge. 
They appear beyond. There are only three ! 

But what is that dust-cloud here at the right, full of 
running figures strung out in line ? Our leader springs to 
his feet. " The herd 1 The herd ! " he cries. 

And now we were in the midst of one of those intensely 
animated scenes which come but once in a lifetime. 
There at the left ran the three bulls : four, less one. 
At the right, fifty cows and calves were in plain sight. 
Behind us — thank Fortune! Mr. Rude understood his 
business — there came sweeping up on the full run the 
horses and wagon, Mr. Rude leading the three running- 
horses, which they had wisely picked up when they heard 
us shoot. A moment later, the calf-hunt was on, and 
Ricker and I were alone on the prairie, watching three 
fleeting clouds of dust, and wishing we had another horse 
besides the gray. Then we started out to find the fallen 
bull. 



THE WOUNDED BULL 153 

At last, riding over a ridge into a little draw, I came 
right upon him. He was down on his knees when I first 
saw him, and when he saw me made a frantic effort to 
get up. I never saw anything look quite so wicked ; his 
hair was turned forward over his face, and his eyes fairly 
Idazed. The gray horse was scared fairly silly, — and I 
was in sympathy with the horse. I could not at first get 
him in very close, so that, what with his dancing and my 
own eagerness, I missed that whole, entire buffalo four 
times with my revolver as I circled around him. Then I 
reloaded in a hurry, and as I passed in front of him man- 
aged to put a bullet square in his right eye. At this the 
great animal sunk down lower and lower, and then rolled 
over quite dead — I in the meantime putting three other 
balls into him. 

Ricker was back about a quarter of a mile, and I rode 
to him, and, as he avers, yelling like an Indian. We then 
together approached the fallen monarch, and for some 
moments stood regarding the vast proportions of the life- 
less body. It was a huge beast, as large, apparently, as 
two domestic oxen, and lay a black island on the sur- 
rounding sea of gray. Ragged and rugged and weather- 
beaten, with every line of its frame suggesting burly 
strength, it was almost pitiful to see the helpless back- 
ward cast of the great head, and to mark the rapid 
glazing of the eye which a moment before rolled in a 
tameless rage. 

We had no idea how the calf-hunters were faring ; we 
didn't worry much about it. We cared less for "the 
ninety and nine " cows and calves that got away than for 
the one old bull that went not astray. We got the best 
supper the mess-box afforded, and sat late into the night, 
after we had fed the calves and hobbled out our animals, 
going over the story of our first bull, and telling how 
Colonel Jones offered us the head of the bull he was " go- 
ing to kill." 

We did not expect the calf-hunters back until the fol- 



154 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

lowing day, and therefore did not keep up any fire, but 
along toward midnight rolled ourselves up and went to 
sleep. Not long thereafter, one of us awoke, drowsily 
asking, "Who was that shot?" One of our party re- 
sponded, "Indians!" We all roused up, and listened. 
Another shot was heard, faint in the distance. Tlie night 
was black as Erebus. We fired several shots ourselves, 
and waited. Presently there came a long-drawn " Hal- 
loa I" We shouted in response. " Some fellows lost out 
on the flats," we said. By-and-by came the rattle of 
wheels in the dark, coming down the caiion. 

" Get up there, you lazy fellows, and get some supper," 
called out a voice. 

Our nightly visitors proved to be our own party, who 
by dint of hard driving — and, I shall always think, of 
sheer luck rather than skill — had managed in some man- 
ner to find their way back through the hills and ravines 
that lay along south of the Beaver, and had followed 
down it to the camp. What a feat this driving in the 
dark across the trackless plains is, I will leave for the 
innocent who has tried it to explain. It is a risky busi- 
ness in that country, where to lose the water is almost 
certain death. 

The party proudly showed us three more buffalo calves 
curled up in the bottom of the wagon ; and these it was 
our first care to properly attend. After that, around the 
late supper, we listened to the story of the hunt, and 
heard how the buffaloes had led a long, long chase ; how 
Colonel Jones and Ez. had fairly divided the honors; how 
another buffalo cow, in a desperate fight to save her off- 
spring, had been sacrificed to save human life; how the 
close of the chase had found the party miles and miles 
from the camp, without water, with the horses badly fa- 
tigued, and with the choice of a dry, hungry camp on the 
Plains, or a long and risky drive at night. We heard all 
these things, told in a conversation much broken by con- 
stant interruption of fried antelope and coffee ; then took 



OFF FOR THE LAST HUNT 155 

a last look at our long string of captives, and retired to 
snooze away the few remaining hours of darkness in a 
blissful consciousness of well-earned repose. 

Bright and earl}" next morning Colonel Jones "piped 
all hands on deck,'' and after a short consultation an- 
nounced his determination of making a big trip south to 
the Coldwater (Arfrio), in hopes of finding the main 
herd, and intending to drive fast and far until that was 
accomplished. In accordance with this resolve, the light 
wagon was at once gotten out, a full camp outfit, inclucl- 
ing our only water-cask,, was stowed in it, and Colonel 
Jones, Ez. and Charley started out on what it was tacitly 
agreed would be the last hunt. The horses were looking 
fearfully worn, and we disliked to see them go. If we 
had known what a terrible experience they were yet to en- 
dure, they would not have gone at all. Ricker and I did 
not join this expedition, partly because there was load 
enough without us, and partly because we thought our 
chances for a shot at a bull better if we stayed at the wa- 
ter where we were. 

The next day I wandered down the stream, prospecting. 
On my return, late in the afternoon, I saw the Tepee Rock, 
and soon after, the white tents of our camp. The gray 
broke into a gallop, and swung up the valley at a great 
rate, so that in a little while I could distinguish objects 
about the camp. The first thing I saw was a form in the 
door of the tent, leveling a glass at me. It was Ricker. 
He began to wave his hat, and make some motions which 
I thought meant "hurry up." I did so. Then he was 
joined by Robinson, and there ensued one of the funniest, 
and at the same time most ridiculous, incidents of the 
whole hunt. Those two boys waved their hats, waved the 
hand-towel, got down on their knees, lay down on their 
stomachs, crawled out to one side of the tent on their 
bellies, and made such a series of insane antics that I was 
entirely bewildered. They were so extravagant, I sup- 
posed they were only guying me for having lost my din- 



156 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

ner. As I came nearer, they said nothing. I became a 
little nettled, and thought they were a little too foolish 
even for crazy men. Therefore, I folded my arms and 
galloped on, whistling composedly, and intending to tell 
them I thought they were a pair of fools. As I came up 
they grew perfectly frantic. At last, when within fifty 
yards of the tent, Ricker gasped out, " Buffalo I " 

I whirled my head, and glanced along the opposite side 
of the river-bed. There, above a little ridge, showed a 
dozen black humps. I was off the horse in an instant. 
The herd had come right into our camp ! 

" Come into the tent ! " whispered the boys. I cut the 
straps which held my rifle in place at the saddle, and for- 
got to tie my horse. I started to crawl across the inter- 
vening space, every inch of which brought me more clearly 
into the view of the buffaloes, which I could now see quite 
clearly some five or six hundred yards distant. Alas ! 
before I could reach the tent, they saw me, and away they 
went. 

When I got into the tent, the boys only hesitated about 
killing me because I was not good enough to die. I tried 
to explain, but they said that w^as needless; that I was a 
large-sized idiot. I remarked that that was n't a starter 
to what they both were ; and on the whole there was a 
prospect of gore. But just then one of us took a look 
through a hole in the tent. There was the herd standing 
on the hillside. They had not run a quarter of a mile. 

The boys told me that they had been watching the buf- 
faloes for over an hour, waiting for them to come down 
close enough to shoot. The old bulls had gone down into 
the creek-bed, where it was dry, and had wallowed there 
for some time, one always standing guard while the others 
wallowed, and taking his turn when another came out to 
relieve him. None of the herd had yet watered. The 
glass revealed their number to be thirty cows and calves ; 
there were nine bulls, and they kept in a little bunch by 
themselves. They did not run so far as the cows, and we 
could see them plainly, lower down the hill. 



BUFFALOES IN CAMP 157 

It was a strange and almost unparalleled circumstance. 
There stood those hunted and proverbially wary creatures 
which we had found so hard to approach, within full view 
of our flapping tents, looking at them with no apparent 
suspicion of their real occupancy. I wonder what they 
wondered ? I wonder if they trembled with any vague 
and undefined fear as they stood there, trying in vain to 
get some knowledge out of the stul)born and contrary 
wind ? 

We watched the herd through the glass for half an hour. 
Some of the cows began to lie down. They could not be 
Yery much frightened. The remainder of the herd began 
to walk down toward the water. Appetite was prevailing 
over instinct. They were coming in ! 

The boys said they would forgive me if we got a shot. 
I. hoped we might. It looked as if we would. 

The nine bulls left the hillside, and moved down. A 
moment later they were out of sight in a little draw. In 
that moment we made a rush for the other tent, and got 
there successfully, sixty yards nearer the water. 

With nervous hands we ripped slits in the side of the 
Colonel's tent, and thrust out our rifle-barrels, changing 
from one spot to another, making holes as often as we de- 
sired to change, in the attempt to find a place where the 
swaying tent should still conceal us, as by that time there 
were more holes than tent; yet it did not disconcert our 
aim. 

The heads of the bulls showed over the ridge — nine big 
black fronts, one after another, all strung out. All nine 
came over the crest, snifl^ed the air, and came down on a 
gallo}). The little buftalo calf, with its long rope tied to 
its neck, was playing about its old red mother, a little 
below the water. The bulls came nearer yet ; took fright, 
and ran back a few yards; wheeled, and came on again, — 
this time, we could see, straight to a point within gun- 
range. 

" My eyes!" shivered Robinson, " they 're big as meet- 



i58 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

ing-houses !" They did look so. There was one monster, 
and four were big ones ; the others were smaller. They 
came down to the bank of the stream and turned fair to 
our aim. We decided they were less than two hundred 
yards away. We took our places in the door of the tent, 
shielding ourselves as well as we could with the flaps, and 
coolly arranged our plan. We were to shoot from the 
two-hundred-yard notch of our rifle-sights, each taking a 
separate bull, and no one to fire until all were ready. 
Ricker was to count, and all were to fire at the instant he 
said "Three." 

The nine old bulls stood gazing with wide-open solemn 
eyes at the white apparition, whose fluttering wings held 
they knew not what of fate for them. Their great beards 
swept out sideways in the keen slant of the wind. They 
were motionless. They Avere ghostly. It was a singular 
and almost oppressive scene. They seemed like phantom 
animals from the world of a departed race, come back 
to menace or to warn us. Never in my life shall I forget 
that moment, for I never saw a more vivid one. When 
I am old, and close my eyes, I shall see at will those 
great, ghostly, solemn animals, standing with beards 
asweep and eyes full of wondering reproach. 

A moment of intense and silent inaction passed. We 
were ready. 

"One!" "Two!" tolled out Ricker's count. Then 
at the other pendulum-beat the three repeaters spoke 
"Three!" 

And what was this? Dust at my own rifle-shot, a foot 
over the back of my bull I And nothing stops for the 
other boys! The whole nine are off — oh, misery! 

Fairly gnashing our teeth, we all sprang from the tent 
and opened on the flying herd as they ran. Their course 
was right up the bed of the stream, and they ran at right 
angles to us for fifty yards. Bang ! bang ! bang ! rang 
the repeaters. Every shot flew high. Those which did 
not, cut dirt on the bank beyond, or struck the bulls in the 



CALF-HUNTER8 RETURN TO CAMP 159 

humps, where they had no visible effect whatever. When 
they started to run, I threw up the leaf of my sight, and 
so did Ricker, we both thinking they would run away from 
us; but as they kept right along by, I knocked down my 
sight, and just as they turnnd around the corner of a little 
knoll and made otY to the left, I got down low enough and 
sent a bullet with a vicious " phut ! " slap into the hip of 
the smallest bull in the bunch. He strung out behind 
after that, and was one of the missing later on. 

Again we half fancied we could see the dumb protest in 
the half-savage, half-wondering eyes. 

Slowly the night came down. Slowly, out there in the 
west, those huge figures shrouded up in the veil-fold of 
the on-sweeping darkness. Slowly, one by one, — sul- 
lenly, with breaking hearts, perhaps, for the white men 
were around them on every side, — they turned toward the 
setting sun ; toward the little, narrow west which re- 
mained to them. And that, for us, was the last of the 
buffalo. 

A world of incident was crowded into our short trip ; 
but in attempting even a broken account of it, it must 
needs be brief. 

On the evening of our rencontre with the nine bulls, we 
had not time to follow and secure the fallen ones before 
an event happened which put an end to hunting that day, 
and which foreshadowed the close of the entire hunt. 
We were looking up the valley, when our attention was 
attracted by a distant pistol-shot and a faint halloa; and 
presently we discerned a horseman coming slowly down 
toward camp. We soon made it out to be Carter. He 
was riding the l)ay mare Jennie, and his gait was very 
slow. Presently he dismounted, and came leading her 
into camp. 

We saw at once what was the trouble. Both horse and 
man were nearly dead from thirst and exhaustion. Car- 
ter threw himself on the ground, with a despairing ges- 
ture toward the mare. His first words, after he had 



160 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

drained a canteen of water, were, "I guess she 's sure 
gone ! " 

The poor creature looked it, truly. She stood with 
head down and legs wide apart, wet with sweat, and 
trembling like a leaf. In her misery at trying to 
breathe, she blundered and stumbled about the camp, 
and we soon found she was quite blind, or could see only 
imperfectly. A mf)ment later she attempted to lie down, 
but we caught her and held her up, a dead weight be- 
tween us. Then we poured a straight pint of raw whisky 
into a pail. Before we could dilute it with water, the 
mare felt the rim of the pail, and at once drank its con- 
tents at a gulp. Whether the Kentucky mare recognized 
the Kentucky product or not, I do not know ; but slie 
drank that whisky "straight." And it was the best 
thing she could have done. She did not get down at all 
after that; and in a little while we gave her a quart or so 
of water, then half a pailful ; and after blanketing and 
rul)bing down her legs, she began to prick up her ears 
and whinny a little. Then we knew she would pull 
through ; and we held a general jubilee, hugging the 
game old animal and calling her all sorts of pet names. 

"That mare 's sure clear grit," said Carter. "She 'a 
gone over a hundred miles to-day, and has n't had a drop 
of water. I 've made three big runs on her, and caught 
five calves without uncinchiiig the saddle." 

While Carter was swallowing his supper, we learned 
from him the story of the calf-hunt. The drive from 
the main camp south, he said, had been a very long and 
rapid one, and as near as they could tell, far beyond the 
Coldwater, when just before sundown they came in sight 
of the largest herd of buffalo which had yet been found — 
probably seventy-five or one hundred in number. It was 
too late to make a run that night, so camp was made in 
the breaks, within a mile and a half of the herd. In the 
morning, before sunrise, camp was broken, and after di- 
viding up what little water there was left — the horses 



PLENTY OF CALVES, BUT NO WATER 161 

getting only a very little — the approach on the herd was 
begun, and the first run was made early in the morning. 
Two calves were the result of this run, one each for Colo- 
nel Jones and Carter. The herd did not make for any 
stream, but ran out into an undiscovered country of 
limitless extent. The second run was made late in the 
morning. The day proved to be terribly hot. Three 
calves were caught by Carter; but the horses were al- 
most exhausted. Colonel Jones got so far away from the 
party, or the party from him, that for a time it looked as 
if he would have to leave his exhausted horse and try the 
fifty or sixty miles to water on foot. However, he found 
the trail, and, by walking, drove his horse for a time (as 
he was so near gone he would not lead ) , and managed to 
keep it up until he sighted the wagon and signaled for it 
to come up. The whole outfit was nearly "done up," 
and it looked a question whether they would all ever get 
into camp. 

It was well for the party that they knew the country 
into which they came. Colonel Jones recognized a cer- 
tain table-rock, and knew that camp lay far below them. 
Had they not been familiar with that part of the country, 
and had therefore gone up the stream instead of down, 
they would have lost all their stock, and would probably 
have perished themselves. It cannot be emphasized too 
much, that hunting in that country — in the spring of 
1887, at least — was a matter which " tenderf eet " and 
"grangers" would very much better let alone. A party 
going down on that range would be foolish to start with- 
out a thoroughly posted guide. They would get no game, 
and would stand a large chance of dying of thirst. 

When they came to the Canadian (or Beaver), the teams 
were nearly ready to drop, and it was evident that fresh 
horses must be had. The black runner could hardly move, 
and even the tough mule team was "done up." Two of 
the buffalo calves had died of the intense heat — which is 
not strange; for in that little spring wagon there were 
-11 



162 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

crowded three men, all their camp equipage, a water-cask, 
and seven kicking young Imffaloes. 

Carter had therefore come down to get a fresh team, 
and take back such water as he could. Poor fellow ! — he 
looked weary enough himself; but he did not tarry, and 
after his hasty supper started back with the spare team, 
carrying as much water and whisky as he could sling 
about him in canteens. 

We built a beacon-fire near b}' the Tepee Rock that 
night, and prepared supper, that it might be ready for 
the late comers. About midnight we heard their rifle- 
shots, and could presently see the flashes as they fired. We 
answered, and built up our fire; and presently the party 
rode silently into camj). They were successful ; but the 
best part of their success was that they got in alive. The 
black running-horse was left for dead, ten miles back on 
the trail. 

The next morning Colonel Jones suddenly displayed a 
certain trait in his character which did much on more 
than one occasion to rob us of pleasures the trip might 
otherwise have done. He got in a hurry, and abruptly 
announced his intention of starting for home. Of course 
it was not for my companion or myself to murmur at his 
wish in the matter, since it was pure kindness on his part 
to take us along on the trip ; but we did so wish, now 
that we had fairly gotten the situation of the bufl'aloes, 
to stay and rest a few days, and get another bull or two, 
before we started in. We knew it was our last chance. 
However, we tried to be resigned, and recorded no protest 
except that written here. In these columns we wish 
squarely to reprimand the man who would do so cruel an 
act as to take us two fellows away from the bufl^aloes, 
just when we had fairly found them. We did not even 
have time to go out and look for the two bulls which we 
supposed we had killed, although Carter had seen the 
Imnch of l^ulls with only seven in it, as he came down 
the night before, thereby corroborating our count. 



RETURNING HOME 163 

We left the boys to look up the dead and wounded, to 
attend to the wearied stock, and bring into the settle- 
ments the captive calves, with all the retinue of the great 
main camp. We quickly prepared the light wagon for 
the trip, and hitched in the large bay horse and the lucky, 
plucky little balking gray, who now balked no more, but 
was grown into high esteem about the camp. Of course, 
Jennie could not travel. She and all the rest of the 
horses were to be allowed several days' rest before they 
were started for the settlements. The nervy mare had 
"picked up" a great deal by morning, and appeared to 
be coming out all right. We were glad to see that she 
was not going to lose her eyesight, but had been only 
temporarily l)lind and dizzy. We were glad also for an- 
other thing: Colonel Jones went out early in the morn- 
ing, after a very scanty allowance of sleep, and found the 
abandoned black horse on his feet and struggling to get 
down to the water. Whisky and water revived him 
enough to get him into camp, and his "naturally strong 
constitution," as the doctors say, brought him through 
all right eventually. 

Colonel Jones, my companion and I started early, tak- 
ing with us only a very light camping-outfit, some jerked 
buffalo meat, and coffee. We found our team could do 
better than expected, and we made a long drive the first 
day. 

By this system of driving day and night, — which I 
never could see how the horses stood up under, — we held 
on our way steadily, and almost before we knew it were at 
the railroad, and at home in Garden City. Once we drove 
close to 100 miles in 24 hours. 

Then followed the queries and congratulations. Our 
hunt was over. It had been a most fortunate one, all 
considered. Had it not been so well planned and so well 
pushed, it might have been called an unlucky one. Cer- 
tainly, there was good luck in it. 

A week and a half after our arrival the boys arrived 



164 rOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

with the main outfit, bringing in the bull- and antelope- 
heads, and the skins of various kinds which we had col- 
lected. Of "course, we inquired anxiously about the calves. 
To our sorrow, only seven out of the fourteen captured had 
been brought in alive. Some had died of stubbornness or 
sickness; one had gotten away in the night; and yet an- 
other had fallen victim to a certain brilliant experiment 
devised by the boys to make a buffalo calf follow a do- 
mestic cow. The experiment consisted in tying the calf 
to the cow's tail. The calf followed. But unfortunately 
its neck was broken before they could lasso the cow. At 
this, the boys did not finish tying up the other calves in 
like manner, but just herded them along as before. It 
was harder work, but the net results in live buffalo calves 
seemed to warrant them in it. Nothing more need be 
said for Colonel Jones than to remark that he never rep- 
rimanded the boys once for the slimness of their returns. 
He only said, "I wish they had brought in eight or ten, 
at least." 

To-day, in the pasture at the edge of Garden City, 
Colonel Jones has eleven buffalo calves. Four of these 
are yearlings, fat as seals, shaggy as sheep, and so tame 
that you can almost touch them. The other seven are 
the calves of this year's hunt. They are lively as crick- 
ets, and run bawling after their foster-mothers like any 
other calves. The "old red stripper" supports two, and 
watches them with the most motherly pride. They run 
loose with a small herd of blooded domestic cattle. It 
is the intention, as was previously stated, to raise a herd 
of buffaloes, and also to experiment with hybridization. 
It is to be hoped that no accidents will thin this little 
band, survivors of a doomed race, and procured at so 
great peril, hardship, and expense. It is of course true 
that the American people will watch with the greatest 
solicitude a herd in Avhich they have so great an interest. 
To-day, too, in the same pasture, " Jennie "and " Blackie " 
take their ease among the calves they helped to catch ; 



LOOKING BACKWARD 165 

now and then privately indulging in a run after a calf, 
just to keep up the memory of their hunt, — which will 
be their last indeed, in all probability. The gray horse — 
now posing as a reformed balker — pensively chews buf- 
falo-grass out on the claim of the dark-eyed damsel who 
gave us our immortal lunch on the day we started out. 
Colonel Jones, the mules, and all the rest of us, are at 
work. 

Could not the calf-hunt be duplicated by other parties? 
Hardly ; for the reason that men having sufficient knowl- 
edge of the haunts and habits of the game, and an in- 
clination to secure it, are very few; and of these few, 
fewer yet are able financially to organize such a hunt. It 
cost Mr. Jones over one thousand dollars in preparatory \ 
and current expenses for the short time which our trip 
lasted. 

Could not hunters pay the expenses, and hire an effi- 
cient guide? They could easily hire a guide. Perhaps 
he would promise everything ; probably he would secure 
nothing. I do not know of any man who would even 
promise success. The few who know the secrets of that 
forbidding land are anxious to keep their secrets for their 
own benefit. 

Could a party of hunters not acquainted with the 
country go into that region with any chance of success ? 
No. It would be dangerous to try it. Water is too 
scarce. The path of the hunt might be a jornada del 
muerto (journey of death) for a band of "tender-feet." 

Is our party entitled to the claim of having seen the 
last of the buffalo ? Not literally, of course. But it is 
probable that we were the last, or very near the last, civ- 
ilized hunters to look upon the buffalo wild on its native 
range. There were features of our hunt which we should 
not wish to see repeated ; but on the whole, we endeav- 
ored to act like civilized hunters. Those will be only sav- 
ages who, for the sake of the few dollars which the hides 
of the devoted creatures will bring, will plan to finish 



166 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

their destruction. It was the skin-hunter who has so 
nearly annihihited the entire race of these grand animals, 
changing Nature's plan — tearing Nature's page in this 
good century. It will not be the privilege of the last 
members of the race to die victims of any noble, if incon- 
siderate, ambition. It will be the cool, calculating, pic- 
ayunish, fiendish skin-hunter who will make the last 
"stalk." It will be his penny-loving eye which will 
catch the sight against the last shaggy side. It will ))e 
from the worn grooves of his rifle that the last puff of 
smoke will come, and hang above a grass-covered wallow. 
It will be his skilled hands which will strip off the last 
robe. And his comment as he folds it down will be, 
"I've got the last!" 

Poor fool! He will not know — he has not brains 
enough to conceive — what those words mean, that he 
has indeed killed the Last of the Buffalo. May those 
solemn eyes in their last glance blight and wither him ! 
should be the verdict of all true Americans. 



CHAPTER X 

THE WILD HOESE — OTHER ANIMALS 

ORIGIN OF — HABITAT — GREATEST NUMBER EVER KNOWN — 
SIZE, COLOR, STYLE, AND FITNESS TO SURROUNDINGS — THE 
STALLION DRIVES, NEVER LEADS — GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION 
OF CONTEST FOR MASTERSHIP — DURING THE DRIVE, TO 
KILL THE RULER RESULTED IN FAILURE — SOME OF THE 
HEROES WHO MADE FORTUNES CAPTURING THESE ANI- 
MALS — WHEN FAMISHING, NEVER LOST SIGHT OF HORSES 
UNTIL THEY WENT TO WATER — THE WILD HORSE's GREAT 
SPEED AND ENDURANCE — PRAIRIE-DOGS AND OWLS : NO 
SUCH THING AS " HAPPY FAMILY" — RATTLESNAKES AND 
OWLS INTRUDERS — HELD AT BAY BY A MONSTROUS RAT- 
TLER 

IN presenting Colonel Jones's adventures in hunting 
and capturing the buffalo, to neglect relating a few 
facts concerning the wild horse and some other ani- 
mals of the Plains would be like the play of Hamlet 
without the ghost. 

The habitat of the wild horse was that of the American 
bison, where, though never commingling with them in an 
absolute sense, there were rare exceptions where a single 
animal might be discovered in close proximity to a herd 
of buffalo. I remember once having been presented with 
a two-year-old colt, which had been observed for more 
than ten months as the comparatively close companion of 
a band of buffalo, with which he had run for that length 
of time. All the individuals of the herd seem to have 
been imbued with that strange affection which sometimes 

• ( 167 ) 



168 FOKTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

manifests itself among our domestic animals, many au- 
thentic stories relating to which are current. The prob- 
ability is the colt was always smart enough not to get 
tangled up in the herd, or be caught napping; at least I 
would have advised such vigilance, had I been the in- 
structor. 

The wolf, that ever-persistent, hungry species of the 
genus Lupus, called by the old hunters "loafers," while 
particularly fond of young colts, also of horseflesh, rarely 
takes the terribly unequal chances of securing a meal by 
attempting to capture a wild horse on the open prairie ; 
yet in the woods he is quite the reverse. For some rea- 
son he much prefers to depend upon the superannuated 
buffalo bulls, driven out of the herd by their junior 
fellows, for his rations; yet when compelled by almost 
absolute starvation to take the most desperate chances, 
he risks an attack upon the stately, swift-footed wild 
horse. 

How long the present wild horse has existed on the 
Plains is difficult to rightly conjecture; for we know that 
as he is at present physiologically constructed, he is not 
identical with the wild horse of prehistoric ages. True, 
as paleontology proves, there was a variety of species of 
the horse roaming over the Great Plains thousands of 
years ago, but they, with other orders of immense mam- 
mals, became extinct in a remote geologic age. That was, 
as Huxley and other famous paleontologists have shown, 
the primitive horse. There was an almost incalculable 
hiatus between those prehistoric times and the appear- 
ance of the present wild horse, whose existence on the 
Great Plains of Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska is 
limited to a very recent day. It is the accepted theory by 
scientists, that their origin dates back to the wonderful 
march of the Spanish explorer, Francisco Vasquez de Cor- 
onado, one of Cortez's lieutenants, who with a small army 
traversed the vast wilderness of the mid-continent region 
of North America in 1541. In his itinerary, his historian. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE WILD HORSE 169 

Castenada, relates losing many horses, which escaped dur- 
ing the fearful storms, and from being stampeded by the 
buffalo. From the relatively few which formed the basis 
of all that have since occupied the region pointed out, it 
appears they flourished in a remarkable degree, for as late 
r.s 1875 it was estimated by those who were competent 
judges, that no less than fifty thousand were roaming at 
will over the prairies of the large States enumerated 
above. 

Colonel Jones devotes some pages of his journal to the 
habits of the wild horse. He says : 

" The habits and methods of the wild horses, their man- 
ner of subsisting, and their remarkable intelligence, have 
ever been attractive subjects to me. Secreted from the 
view of a large band unconscious of my proximity, I 
have often abandoned everything else for hours in order 
to study the curious and graceful picture of a band of 
horses in their natural state. 

"They are of fair size, weighing in the neighborhood 
of from seven to ten hundred pounds; remarkably well 
built, their chests large, wide and deep, and their bones 
of good size, indicating great strength. Their heads are 
always carried high in the air, the natural position of 
the species when unrestrained by mechanical appliances, 
and when moving they are the very incarnation of grace 
and symmetry. Their eyes protrude more than those of the 
domesticated animal, for the reason, perhaps, that hered- 
ity has stamped this feature upon them by the necessary 
vigilance of their ancestors imposed by their environ- 
ment. The mane is very long, reaching to the knees, 
and the tail usually sweeps the ground. Taking them all 
in all, they are the ideal horse. By constant exposure to 
the fitful variations of climate of the mid-continent re- 
gion, entirely dependent upon their own efforts for their 
subsistence, and frequently, to employ a Western but 
very expressive phrase, compelled to ' rustle ' for their 
living, they have developed a vitality and strength of 



170 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

muscle which is wonderful to contemplate. Their ex- 
tensive travels from place to place in search of fresh 
pastures, and their sometimes extended races under the 
inspiration of absolute liberty, have given them an ex- 
pansion of lungs and nostril assuring an endurance that 
is phenomenal. These physical attributes, coupled with 
an indomitable will, render their capture a difficult and 
tedious process. They are in all their movements as 
graceful as the antelope, and I know of no more beautiful 
scene than that of a band of wild horses at play. They 
are as fleet as the greyhound, and some of the speediest 
horses of to-day in the East have a strain of their blood 
coursing through their veins. 

"The scientists theoretically claim — those, I mean, 
who have not really studied them — that they must un- 
questionably 1)6 a weak race, destitute of fine points, be- 
cause in their common intermingling, without any regard 
to proper breeding, the best blood would soon run out. 
This is not the fact, however; nature has provided a com- 
pensating law, by which their specially fine characteristics 
have been preserved. Strength, nerve and endurance are 
better provided for under that freedom from restraint 
which a life of absolute liberty assures, than could be 
attained by breeding the domestic animal handicai)ped 
by the conventionalities of the confined state from which 
no breeder can hope to escape. 

"The wild horse in his aggregation is governed }\y a 
ruler, who in a band is as absolute as the most arbitrary 
human monarch ; and of course he is the stallion possess- 
ing the greatest strength, pugnacity, nerve, and endur- 
ance. As with the buffalo, the contest for supremacy in 
a herd of wild horses is desperate and exciting. The 
terrible fight for this position between two contending 
stallions cannot be imagined, and language is hardly 
adequate to graphically describe it. They approach each 
other walking on their hind feet, with eyes which simu- 
late balls of molten metal, or the electric light. Their 



CONTEST FOR MASTERSHIP l71 

great mouths are already open, exposing their sharp teeth, 
with which they inflict most terrible punishment, and in 
a few seconds the impending shock comes, for which each 
enraged animal has been preparing himself. Now their 
keenly cutting hoofs are flying in every direction over 
their adversary's body, and their powerful jaws grasp 
neck, shoulders, or any portion they can get hold of. 
They fight with all the desperation of bulldogs, throwing 
their whole force against each other; consequently the 
weaker ' goes to the wall ' a terribly mutilated brute. 
If he is not equal in strength, or lacks in endurance to 
withstand the awful shocks of his adversary, he is at last 
hurled to the ground, — kicked, stamped on, and torn by 
the teeth of his mad antagonist; and if by chance he can 
rise again, he rushes off, glad to escape with his bare life. 
Unlike the contests between buffalo bulls, described in a 
previous chapter, wherein no blood is drawn, those be- 
tween the wild stallions of the Plains are fraught with 
sanguinary results. Wherever their cruel teeth are fast- 
ened in each other's flesh, their bodies are lacerated in 
the most horrible manner. When these instruments of 
warfare slip off the hide where they have taken hold, they 
snap together, sounding like the report of a firecracker. 
The conquered animal in his retreat exerts every muscle 
if he is permitted to rise from the earth where he has 
been thrown by his adversary, and breaks and dashes off 
as fast as he is able, pursued for a mile or so by the 
latter, who cuts and bites him at every jump. He is at 
last abandoned, and never again molests his adversary, 
as the poor disabled ' tramp ' never forgets his experience 
as long as he lives, — unlike the Turk, who 'fights and 
runs away, to renew the fight another day.' 

"One of the most interesting sights in connection with 
wild horses is when the proud high-headed stallion, who 
is ruler of the herd, numbering perhaps all the way from 
twenty to a hundred, first discovers the presence of an in- 
truding stallion in the vicinity. With lofty head, he liter- 



172 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

ally ' smells the battle from afar ' ; his tail is thrown out 
at an angle of forty-five degrees, and he commences to en- 
circle his charge, with his head lowered to his knees, nose 
turned up like an old gander when angry. This he re- 
peats once or twice, rounding all the animals into a close 
bunch, where they remain until his return, without the 
least change of position. He gathers himself up, as it 
were, and dashes off like a whirlwind to meet the object 
of his fury, which is perhaps half a mile distant. Nine 
times out of ten, however, the enemy has flown long be- 
fore he arrives at the spot where he originally appeared. 
Sometimes, the reverse is the case: he meets with a bun- 
dle of horseflesh all nerve and muscle, which waits to 
measure strength with him. Of the many encounters of 
this character I have witnessed, only one has occurred in 
which the master of the herd was compelled to yield to 
the intruding adversary. 

"The general idea of those who have heard of wild 
horses is, that the master stallion leads the herd. This is 
not the case ; he drives them anywhere he desires them to 
go, for fear the mares will escape, or be cut out of the 
band by prowling stallions. The monarch of the herd 
guards them with as much vigilance as a sheriff guards a 
squad of prisoners, or a shepherd guards his flock when 
wolves are hungry and desperate. Does anyone suppose 
the stallion ' leads ' the herd ? No ! Such an idea is 
nonsense, and the person who insists on it only shows he 
knows not whereof he speaks. Every individual member 
of the herd is fully aware that any disobedience brings its 
chastisement, and offenses of this character are rare, for 
the punishment is severe and sudden. He allows no 
males in the herd after they have attained the age of one 
year. When there are signs of danger from any direc- 
tion, he invariably puts himself between it and the herd, 
guarding its interest with all the persistency of a Roman 
sentinel. When danger has been discovered, the mares 
flee from it, but tlie stallion stops at intervals, strikes the 



METHOD OF CAPTURING WILD HORSES 173 

hard dry earth viciously with his fore feet, whistles ter- 
rifically through his nostrils, as if to defy all intruders ; 
then whirls and dashes after the fleeing band with great 
rapidity. When they are overtaken, he whirls around 
again and repeats the same performance. 

" Seldom are there seen to exceed a half-dozen stallions 
herding together. They usually are found alone. Occa- 
sionally one dashes in and cuts out a mate from one of 
the large herds (one of the requirements to success). He 
is soon overtaken, punished, and the mare driven by the 
victor with terrific speed into the herd. 

"The wild horse, like that ruminant the buffalo, when 
man in his wantonness commenced the process of hunt- 
ing him regardless of the deplorable results which have 
obtained, was fated to annihilation, and the race is now 
nearly extinct. During the decade ending with 1885, 
many of the old buffalo-hunters turned their undivided 
attention to gathering wild horses, for which there was 
soon established a demand, constantly increasing. Their 
method of capturing the beautiful animals was a tedious 
process, yet very successful, and attended by no injury to 
the horses. It consisted of continually pursuing the herd, 
day after day, sometimes for weeks, allowing it no rest, 
until at last, footsore, jaded and worn out, the subdued 
animals could be easily driven into a corral previously 
prepared for them. In building the corral, the hunter 
takes advantage of the knowledge he has oljtained of the 
wild horse, which is the wisest of all equine creation, 
and l)uilds his fence accordingly. He leaves a large open- 
ing into the corral, through which the horses are to pass 
into the inclosure. Then from each end of the walls, at 
this opening, fences are made in a flaring manner, about 
a hundred yards in length, and from the end of each 
wing fence a furrow is plowed about a half-mile in 
length, in the flaring manner of the fence. As all horse- 
hunters know, the wild horse fears to cross a freshly 
plowed furrow, thinking it a snare, no doubt. When the 



174 FORTY YEAR8 OF ADVENTURES 

animals are so fatigued and footsore they can be turned 
in any direction desired, the hunters guide the band into 
the large lane between the furrows, then give a yell, and 
the band rushes pell-mell in the direction of the corral. 
If they try to avoid it, they come to the furrow and shy 
away, but have no time to turn about, and are pressed 
by shouts, shots and yells between the wings of fencing, 
Avhere there is only one possible way of escape from the 
fusillade; that is, in the rear. Thus they are rushed 
through the corral opening, and into captivity. This 
corral was usually made of logs, stone, or occasionally of 
only sod walls ; and when once securely inside of the 
structure the lasso was brought into requisition, and the 
captured animals were soon hobbled. They were then 
herded until quite gentle, when they were driven to a 
railroad station and shipped to some Eastern market, 
where they were readily disposed of. 

"The monarch of the herd was an indispensable ad- 
junct in the drives before the corral was reached, for it 
was through his efforts and exaction of discipline that 
the herd were kept together, until they were so weary and 
footsore the hunter could easily turn them in any direction 
he desired. Often the stallion would become desperate 
and charge upon the hunters, who were compelled to flee 
from his awful wrath, or shoot him, to escape death. If 
the latter became necessary, it of course ended that drive, 
— for the band, having lost its controller, would imme- 
diately scatter in all directions, and the work, which had 
perhaps occupied weeks, counted for naught, while the 
hunter cursed his luck for a month or two. 

" Perhaps the most successful wild-horse hunters were 
those who commenced the vocation as early as 1878. The 
bravest and most daring of all was E. J. Bell — 'Wild- 
Horse Bell,' as everyone on the Plains called him. He 
certainly is entitled to the championship, if numbers is 
the criterion. He captured over one thousand of the 
wary animals, and almost alone. He never abandoned. 



NEAKLY CAUGHT BY CHEYENNE8 175 

but one herd in all his career, and then severe illness was 
the cause. 

"James R. Fulton and John Stevens, both of tliem 
among the founders of Garden City, Kansas, were also 
remarkable wild-horse hunters. To Mr. Fulton belongs 
the credit of making the greatest single ' catch ' on rec- 
ord. Aided by Link Fulton (a mere lad of only sixteen, 
and son of the famous buffalo-hunter Wm. D. Fulton) he 
drove in and corralled seventy-two head of the most mag- 
nificent animals ever caught on the Great Plains. It was 
accomplished, too, at the time the notorious 'Wild Hog,' 
chief of the Cheyennes, was raiding the settlements on 
the border with his band of renegade savages, during the 
fall of 1878. The cruel and bloodthirsty devils were con- 
stantly on the lookout for horse-hunters, as they were 
short of ponies, but Fulton by his coolness and superb 
strategy completely outwitted the old savage and all his 
hosts. 

" Mr. Stevens, while hunting wild horses one day, sud- 
denly found himself confronted by seven well-armed sav- 
ages. They shot his horse from under him, and wounded 
him twice. Finally, he put a fifty-caliber Sharps' rifle- 
ball so close to the old chief that the cowardly brutes 
hastily retreated. Then, under cover of darkness, Mr. 
Stevens made his way to camp, fifteen miles distant, con- 
sidering himself very lucky to get out of the scrape as 
he did. 

"To the wild horse I owe my preservation from a hor- 
rid death, as, several times when on the sandy deserts 
without a drop of water, dazed and bewildered from thirst 
and exposure, and all my efforts to find the precious fluid 
had failed, I seated myself on a high hill, and with a 
field-glass watched for a band of horses. On discovering 
them I was certain of relief, for all I had to do then was 
to follow, when they made their daily trip to quench 
their thirst, as they were sure to visit some lonely pool 
or lake during the day. 



176 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

"During my expeditions after buffalo calves I have 
been able to pick up a few wild colts which I raised on 
cow's milk, until now I am the possessor of quite a 
band of these hardy animals. I have succeeded in mak- 
ing them perfectly gentle, and they have done me good 
service, riding after their old neighbors the American 
bison. The colors of the wild horses are as widely diversi- 
fied as in the domestic stock. There is one peculiarity in 
relation to this subject, however, which struck me very 
forcibly when I first observed it: that is, each band in its 
primitive state on the Plains is composed of animals 
nearly all of the same color, or at least of its different 
variations. Sometimes you find a gray stallion in charge, 
and then the majority of the animals will l)e gray; in 
other instances the controller is black, iron-gray, clay- 
bank, bay, sorrel, blue (mouse-color), etc., and in these 
herds the colors corresponding to that of the sire would 
preponderate. There is a physiological reason for this, 
which is of course obvious to the intelligent reader, as the 
offspring resembles the sire in color more than that of 
the dam, and proves that the stallion once in charge 
maintains the position for many years. 

" Most of the wild horses are excellent trotters, but oc- 
casionally I came across a herd of pacers, — remarkably 
fast, too. 

"At one time while hunting on the headwaters of the 
Smoky Hill river in western Kansas, I saw for several 
weeks in succession a magnificent gray stallion which was 
a beautiful pacer. I frequently spurred my pony to the 
limit of his speed, but failed to press the animal hard 
enough to break his gait ; he stuck to it as persistently as 
a thoroughbred. I have often since regretted that I did 
not spend a month or two in endeavoring to capture him ; 
yet I am thankful that I secured as many as I did." 

There are other interesting animals on the Great 
Plains, which, although of no commercial value, are 



LEGEND OF THE " HAPPY FAMILY" 177 

perhaps worthy a passing notice. Of some of these, 
Colonel Jones, in his habit of closely observing, has 
written in his journal, from which I now quote in this 
relation : 

" Nearly every student of the history of our mid-conti- 
nent region has heard of the so-called 'Happy Family.' 
According to the legend — for legend it is — the harmo- 
nious aggregate consists of prairie-dogs, owls, and the rat- 
tlesnake ; and these are falsely supposed to make their 
home in the same burrow. Of the first mentioned, the 
term 'prairie-dog,' so far as classification is concerned, is 
a misnomer. It is not a dog in any sense of the term ; 
luj more resembles a dog than a cow resembles a horse. 
They are not carnivorous at all, depending entirely upon 
roots and grass-seeds, and even eat the grass itself in 
summer-time. They belong to the order Rodenti*a, allied 
to the squirrel and such gnawers. The prairie-dog is 
really a species of marmot, akin to that which infests the 
fields of continental Europe. It is one-third larger than 
the American gray squirrel, but its tail is not so long and 
bushy; on the contrary, rather stubby and short. The 
prairie-dogs burrow deep in the ground ; are very grega- 
rious, living in great villages, which are often five to ten 
miles long and as many broad. These burrows connect 
beneath the surface, and some of them are from fifty to 
eighty feet deep, reaching water, — for this quaint animal 
must drink. It is a sure sign that water is within access- 
ible distance wherever a prairie-dog town is located, and 
those holes which lead to it are constructed in a sort of 
winding-stair fashion. In early days of central and west- 
ern Kansas I located many settlers on homesteads, and 
always advised them to dig for water in the ' dog-towns ' ; 
and I never heard any complaint of dry wells from those 
who acted on my suggestion. 

"This little rodent is a natural barometer, for from 
twenty-four to forty-eight hours before a shower he may 
— 12 



178 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

be seen busily engaged in banking up around the mouth 
of his burrow, to prevent the surface-water from flowing 
into the hole and drowning himself and family. By care- 
fully noting the halnts of the prairie-dog I have many a 
time escaped a drenching, keeping near my tent until the 
storm was over. 

" The wise hunter always avoids camping close to or in 
a dog-town; not that they are at all dangerous, but be- 
cause the rattlesnake is certain to be there in goodly 
numbers, as is the harmless, blinking, diminutive prairie- 
owl. Now it is true that they are neighbors, but their 
proximity is not any indication that they are congenial ; 
far from it. The dog-hole is a very convenient resort for 
the owl in the glare of the day, without any effort having 
been expended in building a place such as his nature and 
habits require. He is an imgracious bird of ill omen, 
repaying the kindness which he avails himself of, by de- 
vouring the young dogs. The rattlesnake too, finds it 
convenient to accept of a dwelling which presents elegant 
accommodations suitable for his snakeship, by merely 
taking possession, where he, equally as ungrateful as his 
feathered co-tenant, delights to fatten on young prairie- 
dogs. One day, while crawling up behind a clump of 
weeds to shoot an antelope, I came very near laying my 
hand on a monstrous rattler. On jumping up to shoot it 
I saw a prairie-dog hole near, and thrust the butt end of 
my gun into the hole and jumped back. The snake was 
soon at the hole, but could not get in, neither could I get 
my gun. The antelope became quite inquisitive, and 
came circling around until it was within good gunshot ; 
but it was perfectly safe, as the snake had commanded 
me to ' stand back ' by holding his head high above his 
body, darting out his forked tongue in rapid succession. 
I realized my position, and looked in every direction for 
Indians. Had there been a hundred swooping down upon 
me, I never have been able to record which death I would 
have preferred. Finally I ran to the top of a divide, and 



A MAMMOTH RATTLESNAKE 179 

signaled my companion to bring the team over. I then 
took my lariat-rope and threw a noose over the head of 
the serpent, and endeavored to keep it alive for museum 
purposes, but drew the rope too tightly around its neck 
and choked it to death. 

" By that time the antelope was gone and we ate ' slap- 
jacks and coffee ' for another twenty-four hours, before 
more antelope came close enough to be shot. 

"The rattler was so large that he had swallowed a 
prairie-dog, evidence of which fact was indisputable as I 
opened it to discover what had caused such an abnormal 
increase in his diameter. Of course, only rattlesnakes of 
the largest size could accomplish a feat of that character. 
This was one of the first foundations for my disbelief in 
the old theory of the ' happy family ' idea, which I had 
read of long before, having seen it in an article published 
in Harper's Magazine somewhere in the '50s,' and at the 
time accepted it as true, in my boyish credulity. Besides, 
another confirmatory proof of the falsity of the legend is, 
that I have often seen dozens of old prairie-dogs chatter- 
ing around their burrows, as a bird in breeding-time chat- 
ters when its nest is in real or apparent danger from some 
unwelcome visitant, and upon investigating the cause of 
disturbance, found a rattlesnake in the prairie-dog's bur- 
row, which was a complete bar to its legitimate owner's 
entering. 

" The owls, as stated, are particularly the enemy of the 
prairie-dog when the latter is busy rearing her young. 
The prairie-dogs are often obliged to obstruct the en- 
trance to their burrows with dirt to keep the intruders 
— snakes and owls — out until the little ones are large 
enough to take care of themselves. To be sure, the mother 
has to emerge occasionally for food; but she is always 
mistrustful, taking the precaution to block up the mouth 
of the burrow with dirt before venturing far away. The 
snakes are just as obnoxious to the owls as to the dogs. 
They devour the young birds whenever found. The rat- 



180 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

tlesnake is among the most deadly enemies of all crea- 
tures. If he cannot swallow an animal he will bite it, 
and death is the penalty in both cases. Who wonders 
that the Creator doomed his snakeship to ' crawl upon his- 
belly' for all eternity?" 



CHAPTER XI 
SUCCESSFUL CALF-HUNT 

EXTRAVAGANT PREPAEATI0X8 — HERD OF MILCH C0W8 BENT 
TO THE BUFFALO RANGE — DISCOVERED COMPETITION, 
CAPTURING CALVES — CALLED A HALT — COMPETITOR SUR- 
RENDERS, AND MAKES A SMALL FORTUNE — HORSE BITTEN 
BY RATTLESNAKE — SUNDAY IN CAMP — DISCOVERED THE 

HERD — "hurrah, BOYS, SUNDAY OR NO SUNDAY !" 

ELEVEN CAPTIVES AT ONE RUN — WOLVES DEVOUR TWO — 
COLONEL JONES CAPTURES THREE NEXT MORNING UNDER 
DIFFICULTIES — PATHETIC POEM — SHOOTING A BUFFALO 
COW WITHOUT A SIGHT WONDERFUL SUCCESS IN CATCH- 
ING CALVES — MORE CALVES THAN COWS TO FEED THEM — 
LONG JOURNEY FOR RELIEF — TAKEN FOR CATTLE-THIEVES 
— SECURES A DOZEN COWS AT FABULOUS PRICES — AVARI- 
CIOUS IRISHMAN REGRETS HE DID n't ASK MORE — THIRTY- 
TWO CALVES ARRIVE AT RANCH — LEE HOWARD, THE 
TYPICAL COWBOY — JOHN BIGGS, TYPICAL RANCHER 

IN the spring of 1888, Colonel Jones again organized an 
" outfit" for a determined pursuit after the few buf- 
falo calves remaining. He arranged the transpor- 
tation of the expedition by utilizing a four-horse 
wagon, loaded with provisions, and a dozen saddle-ponies, 
thoroughbreds, and bronchoes. He was fortunate in se- 
curing the services of Mr. John E. Biggs as a companion 
and assistant, who was to take charge of affairs when 
Colonel Jones was not present. Mr. Biggs was a typical 
cowboy, or rather, had Ijeen ; he was now a ranchman, 

(181) 



182 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

having passed the cowboy period and settled down to tlie 
business of stock-raising, with liis wife (a beautiful little 
school teacher, nee Miss Alice Moore, of Ohio) to preside 
over his household. He was disposing of his herds rap- 
idly, intending to take a rest and recreation, which he 
declared he much needed. Upon the earnest solicitation 
of Colonel Jones, who at last persuaded him he could get 
no better recreation than by a trip on the Plains, he con- 
sented ( though reluctantly) to accompany the Colonel 
whenever the expedition was made up. 

On the 20th of April the expedition pulled out from 
Garden City, Kansas, Colonel Jones's home, headed for 
the southwest; Mr. Biggs in charge, as the Colonel was 
compelled to linger behind for about a week in order to 
finish some important lousiness. At the end of that pe- 
riod the Colonel hooked up two of the wildest bronchoes 
in his herd, to a single-seated buggy, and on the morning 
of the 26th dashed away, all alone, on the trail of Mr. 
Biggs. There were several settlers in that portion of 
southwestern Kansas through which he intended to pass, 
who had emigrated into the valleys that spring, and on 
his first night out he was entertained by one of them. 
The second and third nights, he camped on the prairie 
alone ; the fourth day overtaking Mr. Biggs in the region 
called " No Man's Land," now a part of Oklahoma. Mr. 
Biggs was a careful man with stock ; had all his life been 
accustomed to it; and on this trip, as he had twenty 
especially selected milch cows (upon which depended the 
lives of the buffalo calves) to care for, had prudently 
taken his time for the work assigned him by the Colonel. 
The latter found everything more than satisfactory, and 
the " outfit" traveled until camp was made early in the 
evening. This was on the border of Texas, in the extreme 
northwestern portion of that State. The cows and ponies 
were at once turned loose to graze, with a herder to watch 
them. Twice a day the cows were milked by the herder 
and "Shorty," the cook; though all the milk excepting 



COMPETITION DISCOVERED 183 

what the party could use — a limited amount — was 
necessarily thrown away, as the calves had been left at 
home. 

On the morning of the 3d of May, Colonel Jones, Mr. 
Biggs and one of the teamsters left camp in a light wagon, 
freighted with five days' provisions, and other parapher- 
nalia for the chase, — four ponies, saddles, etc., — fully 
intent on accomplishing something in the line of the busi- 
ness for which they had left civilization. They crossed 
the Aqua Frio, on the second evening arriving at the 
Paladura, where, at the head of this stream, about twenty 
miles from the South Canadian, they established their 
main camp. 

They were now very near the western boundary of Texas, 
and here were discovered evident signs that buffalo had 
been in the vicinity not many days previously. The Colo- 
nel and Mr. Biggs left on their ponies for a little expe- 
dition together, and on the third morning out from the 
main camp, while the Colonel was carefully scrutinizing 
every inch of territory visible in the vast region, for the 
whereabouts of the remaining shaggy wanderers, he saw 
an object in the distance, which he shortly recognized to 
be a man on horseback. Supposing it to be an Indian, 
they rode directly toward it, and discovered it to be Lee 
Howard, a ranchman from the North Canadian, whom 
Colonel Jones had frequently met. 

"What are you up to now?" exclaimed the Colonel, 
after the customary salutations had passed between the 
two. 

"Catching buffalo calves," replied Mr. Howard. 

' ' How many have you caught ? ' ' anxiously inquired the 
Colonel. 

"Only two," said Mr. Howard. 

This was a bitter pill for the Colonel to swallow, as he 
was aware there could not be more than forty calves in 
the country — maybe not half that number; and as Mr. 
Howard was well acquainted throughout the west, and 



184 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

was a good hunter besides, the Colonel was satisfied his 
rival would secure his share of them. 

Colonel Jones, however, who i& never at a loss in a case 
of emergency, soon arrived at a determination which would 
quickly settle the matter. He concluded to stop Mr. 
Howard's career in the line of buffalo-calf hunting, and 
asked him how much he would charge to work for him 
during the next two months. Mr. Howard, it seems, was 
bent on catching buffalo calves for himself, however, and 
in his repl}^ to the Colonel put his services at such a high 
figure that he supposed it would certainly be rejected at 
once. He said, laughingly, he would work during the 
period specified for five hundred dollars. Colonel Jones 
accepted the proffer before the sentence was fairly com- 
pleted, not waiting to "dicker," as he felt sure Howard 
would withdraw the offer if he realized it was being con- 
sidered. Mr. Howard was too much of a Western man to 
withdraw his word after its having l)een accepted, as that 
was a completion of a contract ; and out in the region of 
the Great Plains, the only credit that prevails is a reputa- 
tion for honor and veracity. So from the moment of 
Colonel Jones's acceptance of Mr. Howard's proposition, 
the latter was working for him. 

While the two men were discussing the probability of 
the whereabouts of l^uft'alo, a cow and her calf made their 
appearance on a little divide not far away. In an instant 
Mr. Howard was oft' after the calf, which happened to be 
one well advanced in age and strength, and the race for 
its possession continued for several miles, the Colonel fol- 
lowing on a canter. The persistent little brute was aljout 
to get away altogether, when Mr. Howard halted for a 
moment, stripped off the heavy Mexican saddle from his 
horse, to relieve it from so much weight, jumped on again 
bareback, and the calf was soon in the noose of his rope. 
While he was tying it, a large rattlesnake struck the horse 
on the ankle of his fore leg, and it was only by great ef- 
fort that the animal was saved. The calf was a beautiful 



SUNDAY IN CAMP 185 

heifer, and when three years old sold for a thousand dol- 
lars. So Mr. Howard's salary was doubly paid by the 
capture of the one calf. 

The next day was passed in scanning the country be- 
tween the Paladura and the South Canadian. Few signs 
of the presence of buffalo were discovered. The three 
men were possessed of field-glasses, and separated them- 
selves at a distance of about six miles. Moving to the 
west, a small band of buffalo were discovered in the after- 
noon, out of which Colonel Jones caught a calf, the only 
one in the herd. 

It was now Saturday night, and all went into camp 
near a small lake, such as are frequently to be found dur- 
ing a w6t season in the region where the party was. It 
was decided to rest on the Sabbath — although Sundays 
are rarely regarded as different from other days, on an 
expedition of this character. The wind blew very fiercely, 
almost a hurricane, and it became too monotonous for the 
wiry, active hunters to remain in camp all day without a 
tent or even a covered wagon. So the Colonel, impatient 
of the enforced idleness, proposed that he and Howard 
should take a ride "just for their health, and nothing 
else." The former, nothing loath, as anxious to be on 
the move as the Colonel, acquiesced promptly, and soon 
they were loping to the southwest. After riding in that 
direction for a few miles they circled toward the north- 
west, and were shortly wending their way slowly back to 
camp. The sun was raj)idly sinking in the west, when 
suddenly Mr. Howard stopped, fixed his glass to his eyes, 
and said he saw a fine herd of buffalo, about eighty in 
number, some three miles northeast from where they then 
were, and the same distance north of camp. The Colo- 
nel had left his glasses at camp, but verified the facts 
through Mr. Howard's, and they quickly rode to the 
wagon, changed horses, ordered Mr. Biggs to join them, 
and the teamsters to follow with the team. As he dashed 
Away, the Colonel shouted, " Hurrah, boys, Sunday or no 



186 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Sunday 1 " Away the three hunters went, until they ap- 
proached, by a strategic movement, within five hundred 
yards of the herd. The sun was just going down, the 
wind blowing from the northwest harder than ever. The 
signal was given by Colonel Jones, and though rein and 
spur were freely given to the horses, the breeze was so 
strong that little progress was made, as the herd pressed 
directly toward the hurricane. 

"Lie close!" shouted Colonel Jones. Each man 
obeyed, laying himself close down on his animal's neck, 
which was a great advantage against the powerful wind. 
The herd was soon overtaken, and as it required such an 
effort for them to run against the wind, — as buffalo gen- 
erally do when pursued, — the herd varied this time, and 
veered to the south on a line nearly in the direction of 
camp, in which direction by almost superhuman efforts 
Colonel Jones had turned them. There were fourteen 
calves in the herd, and before it had run jfive miles, eleven 
of them were captured and tied down. Howard securing 
five. Biggs four, while the Colonel caught two and then 
turned his attention to gathering up the calves, as dark- 
ness was now on. Night however came so quickly that 
two were lost in the darkness, and became a prey to the 
-hungry wolves, ever on the alert for such chances. 

At dawn the next morning all were out searching for 
their lost prizes of the night before, and the three that 
had escaped with the herd. Colonel Jones rode the same 
"Gray Devil" that caused so much trouble the year pre- 
vious, and headed to the northeast and up a deep ravine 
or canon on a gallop, for time was precious. Just as he 
rounded a little point, there in full view stood eleven 
cows and the three frisky calves which had escaped cap- 
ture the night before. They all appeared to be paralyzed 
with fear, as there was no egress, except to pass down the 
cailon and meet their pursuers. There was no way to 
avoid an encounter, as to retreat for assistance would 
allow them all to escape. The herd dashed by him before 




JOHN BIGGS. 



"rescue the perishing" 187 

he could arrange his lasso ; then the greatest chase of the 
season was fully on. Dashing after them with his usual 
energy and recklessness, he soon had two of them tied 
fast on the prairie. The third one, as he expresses it, 
"was a holy terror to run " ; in fact, all three had been so 
fleet the night before, that they escaped even the thorough- 
bred horses, — so no wonder the Colonel hesitated to try 
them on the gray pony. Only by chasing at angles, and 
throwing the lasso with great accuracy, were they finally 
secured. 

It was nearly noon before the rest of the party knew 
where the Colonel had gone, or what he had been doing. 

The wagon containing the calves had been dispatched 
early in the morning to the main camp ; the three caught 
that day were, after some hard work, gotten together, and 
tied to a rope stretched between two stakes, as before de- 
scribed ; but that evening the largest took a fit of anger, 
and dropped dead. To-day the two captives and their 
offspring form a charming group of eleven beautiful and 
stately buffalo. 

The Colonel related the above facts to a group of visit- 
ors one day at Omaha, Neb., and shortly afterward was 
presented with the following contribution from one of his 
audience : 

"RESCUE THE PERISHING." 

All day sped on the panting herd, 

Nor paused for food or thirst to slake ; 

An unknown goal before them lay, — 
They fled alone for life's sweet sake. 

For life is sweet to all that breathe, 
And from the huntsman's cruel aim 

They sought a refuge safe and sure, 
And to the lonely canon came. 

Thus sheltered from the glaring sun, 
And from unpitying murd'rous eyes, 

They drank sweet draughts, and herbage browsed 
As sweet as manna from the skies. 



188 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

The weary miles were all forgot, 

And peace came to that little band ; 

Night found them housed in nature's fold, 
Led hither by "the Shepherd's" hand. 

And morning found them still content. 

But hark ! A sound comes to the ear, 
A sound which they had learned full well 

To hear with naught but trembling fear. 

The ringing hoof beats down the gorge, 

Urged on by rider yet concealed, — 
Be told a strife undoubtedly. 

To which this little band must yield. 

No egress was there farther on ; 

They needs must wait and meet their foe. 
While terror and dismay now reigned 

Where dwelt content one hour ago. 

Ah, not for sport or wild adventure. 
Came the huntsman that fair morn ; 

Tor his daring deeds of valor. 
Was a purer motive born. 

Not to slay — ah, no: to the rescue, 

Was his mission pure and high, 
To lead them out of other dangers 

Into which they else might fly ; 

Por the hand that bore the lasso, 

"Was a friendly hand and true. 
And led them out of danger's pathway, 

Into pastures strange and new. 

No more thirst, and no more hunger, 

A hunter's target ne'er to be ; 
These the price for being captives, — 

What their fate if they were free? 

Mrs. Elizabeth Edwards Keith. 

At dawn the following morning, a herd of about sixty 
buffaloes was discovered coming directly toward camp. 
It was the same herd, no doubt. There were no calves 
among them, however. Upon Mr. Howard's suggesting 
it would be well to kill one, as they were entirely out of 



BHOOTING WITHOUT A BIGHT 189 

meat, the Colonel reached for his Winchester, and strode 
away to meet the approaching animals. Just before get- 
ting within rifle-range, the herd discovered the camp, 
veered to the right, and passed Colonel Jones fully three 
hundred yards distant. A fine four-year-old cow was in 
the lead, and this one the Colonel marked for his dinner; 
but when he endeavored to take aim, he found that the 
front sight to his rifle was entirely gone. There was no 
time for fooling; he quickly made a calculation, aimed 
(or rather, calculated) ten feet ahead of the running beast, 
— a little high, — then bang! went the gun, spat! sounded 
the ball, and up went the tail of the leader. Of all the 
dashing, spurting and " cavorting " that was ever seen, she 
did her part for about three minutes, and then began to 
stiffen; her legs stood still an instant, then she dropped. 
The ball had gone to the exact spot desired, through the 
lungs ! All hands now came up to where the Colonel 
stood, and when they discovered he had shot the animal 
so accurately at such a distance on the run, and without 
a sight on his rifle, they pronounced it the best shot they 
had ever seen made. 

The cow was a fine fat beast, and afforded meat for 
the whole party as long as the weather permitted them to 
keep it. 

Five more calves were captured in the afternoon, and 
the extraordinary success continued from day to day, un- 
til twenty-eight were safely secured at the main camp. 
They were generally frisky; some very stubborn. One in 
particular was always making trouble. He would run a 
hundred yards out of his way any time in order to butt 
over some of the boys in camp, then kick up his heels and 
return to his foster-mother. I gave him the name of the 
champion pugilist of the world at that time — "John L. 
Sullivan"; and he has maintained his title to this day, 
for he is now and long since has been the master of the 
herd. He has never met his "Corbett" in man or beast. 
He it was which thrust his left horn full length into the 



190 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

stomach of the celebrated thoroughbred runner "Ken- 
tuck," and whirled him in the air easily, and with as 
much rapidity as a terrier tosses up a rat with his nose. 
The majority of the calves took kindly to their foster- 
mothers, keeping as close to them as they a short time 
previously had to their real mothers. Many of the cows 
appeared as proud of the little orphan at their side as a 
hen with one chicken ; others would fight desperately 
when the calf approached, yet to no purpose: if the lit- 
tle buffalo was determined to have its supper, it could 
not be shaken off, as supper it would have. 

Success had so abundantly crowned the party's efforts, 
that a council was called by Colonel Jones, to consider 
future movements. There were more calves now than 
cows to feed them. What to do under such circumstances 
was a perplexing question. There was no ranch nearer 
than a hundred miles; besides, ranchmen are very much 
averse to selling cattle with their brand on them, espe- 
cially when they know they are to remain on the frontier. 
The reason is obvious. Suppose anyone desired to steal 
cattle for a living: all that would be required of him, 
would be to produce a bill of sale for the animals, with 
the particular brand of any cattle he had killed, not be- 
longing to himself. 

After a serious consideration of the embarrassing prob- 
lem which faced them, Colonel Jones determined that Mr. 
Biggs should accom2:)any him to the lower Paladura, where 
if possible they would buy cows enough to equal not only 
the number of calves on hand, but the prospective cap- 
tures as well. Mr. Howard was to remain behind and con- 
tinue the hunt, securing as many as he could. 

Early in the morning the fastest team was turned east- 
ward, with Colonel Jones driving. All that day they drove 
rapidly, camping just at night in an old dugout made years 
before entirely underground by hunters or horse-thieves, 
in the side of the bank. The next afternoon they arrived 
at a large ranch, but the manager refused to sell a hoof; 



THE irishman's HOME 191 

would scarcely answer them civilly. They then drove 
down the valley, turning in for the night at the abandoned 
stage station of the once little hamlet called "Zulu," in 
Texas. There was a sod house " held down " by an old 
bachelor, the only inhabitant of the place, everything else 
of its former greatness having disappeared with the col- 
lapse of the "boom," — the fate of the majority of the 
mushroom towns whose ruins may be met with all over 
the extreme West. 

The hermit of the sod house thought they could purchase 
some cows at a ranch about ten miles down the Paladura. 
So the next morning, after having partaken of the old 
man's hospitality for the night, the party as soon as dawn 
showed itself were rolling over small hills and tumbling 
through ravines, until they came to the ranch they had 
been referred to, which was presided over by one Mr. Pat 
O'Neal. He was snugly " fixed " ; his family was living 
with him, and all appeared as happy as if they resided in 
a palace. 

It was quite a treat to gaze upon a woman's face once 
more, but she was as shy as they were familiar, for stran- 
gers (excepting horse-thieves) were rarely to be seen in the 
region, so remote from all civilization, and the presence of 
the hunting outfit evidently disturbed the lady's equanim- 
ity. 

Mr. O'Neal soon appeared, and the nature of the Colo- 
nel's errand was made known to him. As is the custom 
upon visits of strangers, he was very inquisitive as to 
where they were from, and what they wanted with cows. 
The plain facts, without any equivocation, were related 
to him, and when Mr. Biggs spoke for himself, he was im- 
mediately recognized as the man from whom he ( O'Neal ) 
had purchased his start of ponies, some ten years pre- 
viously, which was one point in favor of the hunters. 

Cows at that time in the Western market were worth 
about fifteen dollars each, l)ut Mr. O'Neal was very loath 
to part with any, and concluded to make such a price to 



192 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

the Colonel as would bluff him at the outset ; but he did 
not know the persistent Colonel. Mr. O'Neal named forty 
dollars apiece for the number that was wanted, expecting, 
of course, it would be instantly refused. The Colonel 
merely remarked that about half that price would be con- 
sidered ; upon which Mr. O'Neal gave him emphatically 
to understand that not a cent less would buy them ; in 
fact, he did not want to sell at all. Colonel Jones at once 
accepted his proposition, and drew his check for four hun- 
dred and eighty dollars, for twelve cows, — all the stubborn 
Irishman would consent to let him have. Mr. Biggs in- 
dorsed the check, which Mr. O'Neal knew made it good. 

Mr. Biggs was left to drive the cows over to the camp, 
assisted by one of Mr. O'Neal's boys, while Colonel Jones 
hurried ahead to superintend the great work he had laid 
out before him. 

After the Colonel had departed, Mr. O'Neal chuckled, 
and boasted to Mr. Biggs that "he had played that man 
for a sucker, and he swallowed the bait readily." 

Mr. Biggs asked O'Neal if he knew Colonel Jones. 

O'Neal replied, "Yes — know him well by his being so 
foolish as to pay forty dollars for such cows." 

"Yes," answered Mr. Biggs; "but you don't know 
him. He is known throughout the country as ' Buffalo 
Jones.' He built Garden City, Kansas; has constructed 
a marble block which cost him a hundred thousand dol- 
lars, and he can command a hundred thousand in cold 
cash by one stroke of his pen. He is wild on the question 
of saving the buffalo, and would just as willingly have paid 
you eighty dollars apiece for the cows as forty." 

"Be jabers I " responded Pat, after this disclosure, "I 
wish I had struck him for a hundred dollars apace." 

Mr. Biggs frequently tells this story of the discomfiture 
of the avaricious Irishman, and enjoys it amazingly. 

The cows arrived at camp in excellent condition, and 
the hunt was continued until the last buffalo calf of the 
season had been secured; in all, thirty-seven. 



END OF THE CALF HI NT ' 193 

Mr. Biggs was left in command of the "outfit" and 
Colonel Jones struck across the country on horseback, 
with three days' provisions in his saddlebags. He was 
mounted on his best and fastest animal, and reached his 
own ranch in safety, having been absent in all just six 
weeks. 

Mr. Biggs joined him at Garden City, July 6th, as soon 
as the "drive" could be made, with thirty-two of the 
calves, having been gone from home nearly three months. 

Thus ended the most successful expedition after buf- 
falo calves ever inaugurated, without a mishap or a mis- 
calculation on the part of Mr. Biggs the typical ranchman, 
or Mr. Howard the typical cowboy of the Great West. Mr. 
Jones alone made the one mistake, as he should have sent 
forty cows with Mr. Biggs instead of twenty; but "all 'a 
well that ends well." The expense of the expedition was 
eighteen hundred and twenty-five dollars. The thirty- 
two animals and their offspring proved to be worth many 
times that amount to their owner, besides the consolation 
of realizing that he had been doing his duty toward pre- 
serving the great race of buffalo, and at the same time 
atoning for his wickedness of former years in slaying so 
many of the noble animals. 



-13 



CHAPTER XII 
THE ANTELOPE 

THE BHYEBT AND FLEETEST OF ALL ANIMALS — "a MIGHTY 
GOOD GREYHOUND TO CATCH A MIGHTY POOR ANTELOPE " 
— WHOLE CITY ON A HUNT, DOGS INCLUDED — COLONEL 
JONES KILLS MORE THAN ALL 

THAT old song, "I'll chase the antelope o'er the 
plain," was a favorite one of Colonel Jones when 
a barefooted country boy herding cattle on his 
father's farm. Little did he dream then he would 
become the champion hunter of this slyest and fleetest 
animal on the American continent. The greyhound has 
ever been regarded as the swiftest of all four-footed beasts ; 
but this is not a fact. Where one greyhound may occa- 
sionally, under favorable circumstances, outstrip an an- 
telope, there are fifty which cannot keep in sight after 
running the first mile. There is no better illustration of 
the relative speed of these flying beauties, than the re- 
mark of ex-Governor St. John, of Kansas. He is also a 
veritable Nimrod. Once, when on a protracted hunt on 
the western Plains with Colonel Jones (who was an aide- 
de-camp on his staff, and upon whom he always depended 
during the Indian troubles on the border), the latter 
asked the Governor his opinion in relation to hunting 
antelope with greyhounds. "Well," replied the Gov- 
ernor, "I have arrived at the conclusion that it takes a 
mighty good greyhound to catch a mighty poor antelope." 

(194) 



DEER-HUNTING IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS 195 

No one realized this quaint declaration better than Colo- 
nel Jones. He was possessed of the fastest and best 
blooded specimens of the breed to be procured in this 
country and in Europe ; had tried them thoroughly, but 
was compelled to abandon their services, much to his re- 
gret. Some of the famous animals would occasionally 
catch an antelope, but it was such an effort for the dog, 
that often, for over a fortnight after the chase, it was un- 
able to enter the lists again. Its feet were so badly torn 
and bruised by running over the dry baked earth of the 
prairie, covered with cacti, that it was impossible to at- 
tempt another run until the greyhound had completely 
recovered. 

Colonel Jones then employed his dogs in another direc- 
tion, — that of pursuing the deer which made their lairs 
in the tall grass growing in the sandhills skirting the Ar- 
kansas, Cimarron and Beaver rivers, on the south of the 
first-mentioned stream. These animals are compelled to 
resort to grass, in consequence of the absence of timber in 
the region of their habitat. 

This was royal sport, as well as a profitable business, 
the carcass of a large deer readily selling for from fifteen 
to twenty dollars ; and the Colonel lived in a country that 
compelled him to sell game in order to live, — much to his 
regret, however. His methods, always novel, evidenced 
his natural genius in cases of emergency. It was almost 
an impossibility for a team and wagon to get through 
those apparently interminable sandhills bordering the 
rivers of southwestern Kansas. His plan was, to enter 
the hills on horseback, leading one or two pack animals, 
by which means he was enabled to go almost anywhere 
without much difficulty. 

The deer always came to the river at night to drink, and 
next day they could be easily tracked to their lairs in the 
tall grass l)y bloodhounds ; the mouths of the hounds be- 
ing muzzled so as to prevent their bellowing on the track. 
As soon as Colonel Jones had reached one of these hiding- 



196 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

places by following the trail made from the spot where 
the deer had drunk and the frightened animal leaped out, 
two of the hounds would be unleashed, and before the 
deer had run a quarter of a mile they would be at his 
throat with such grip of their strong jaws and great teeth, 
that he succumbed, after a desperate struggle. 

It is a popular belief among the uninitiated, that the 
deer is fleeter than any other of the ruminant animals ; 
hence the proverb, when it is desired to express swiftness, 
" He runs like a deer." This is merely a popular adage, 
however, for the antelope is fully one-fourth faster than 
the deer. The antelope cannot successfully be captured 
by dogs as a profitable business. They differ from the 
deer in their alertness ; their almost intuitive knowledge 
of danger in an instant causing them to flee at its slightest 
sight or sound. Because of these remarkably developed in- 
stincts of the antelope, it became one of the most perplex- 
ing questions that ever confronted Colonel Jones, how to 
secure some of the thousands of those beautiful creatures 
roaming over the illimitable plains of the Great West, 
without an expenditure of time that was worth more than 
the results in a pecuniary view ; for mere hunting as an 
amusement was a thing of the past with the Colonel. He 
made a careful study of the habits of the animal, after 
exhausting every device he could think of, and then his 
efforts were crowned with that success which has always 
been his reward when he set himself to work out a prob- 
lem which engaged his earnest attention. 

There was a constant and increasing demand for ante- 
lope in the market, at values ranging from three to five 
dollars each, and, as stated, after every plan had failed, 
the method which Colonel Jones at last adopted, the result 
of deep study of the nature of the coveted animal, was a 
phenomenal success. He learned that while wild animals 
are in motion they do not possess the sense of discerning 
whether other objects are also moving, or whether they are 
fixed. This was the key to the problem he had been so 



STRATEGY PRACTICED ON ANTELOPES 197 

long endeavoring to solve. It was a great discovery, one 
in keeping with the genius of the man ; and Colonel Jones 
turned the key very often, indeed, — always to his pecuni- 
ary advantage. He would drive out in the early morning 
to where the antelope were feeding, and guide his thorough- 
bred horses toward the herd, as if to pass them. The 
antelope allowed the wagon to come within perhaps five 
hundred yards, when they would circle around, then dash 
away for a half a mile at a terrible speed, stop, and resume 
their feeding. Colonel Jones would again drive in the 
direction of the herd, but at an angle which kept them to 
the right or left, as the case might be, at a distance of 
about two hundred yards. The herd would stand still, 
their curiosity excited, until the team was nearly opposite, 
when off they would dash, away ahead of their pursuer, 
who apparently paid no attention to them ; if anything, the 
gait of the team slackened until the third or fourth round 
of these maneuvers. By this time the antelope had natur- 
ally determined they were not being pursued, and permit- 
ted the wagon to come within two or three hundred yards, 
at which they merely cantered leisurely off on a slow gal- 
lop. This was the golden opportunity. No sooner than 
the last antelope had moved away (and not before), the 
horses were guided directly toward the herd, and the word 
given, "Go!" Then, at the height of their speed, the 
horses, trained to their business, dashed down upon the 
herd still loping along, unconscious of any change of 
action upon the part of their follower until the latter was 
within fifty yards of the contented animals, when a gentle 
command, " Whoa," was given to his perfectly intelligent 
team. In an instant they were still as statues, and Colo- 
nel Jones was on the prairie with his Winchester rifle 
pouring lead into the herd at such a rapid rate that a 
stranger would think the noise coming from a volley of 
musketry. At every discharge of his gun, from one to 
three antelopes would roll over like footballs, their veloc- 
ity being so great that they often turned two or three 



198 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

somersaults before stopping. Now could be witnessed the 
strangest feature of the wonderful spectacle : the herd 
invariably, at this juncture, would circle around the 
hunter, and all run up in a compact mass as soon as one 
was hit, the ball almost certainly stopping one or two 
more, after passing through the first and second antelope. 
It was no unfrequent occurrence for Mr. Jones to kill from 
eight to ten as the herd made a circuit, at a maximum 
distance of from two to three hundred yards. 

Colonel Jones, having discovered this secret, hunted 
these animals with great success, and was envied by all 
old plainsmen, who had never learned the methods he 
employed, for he carefully excluded from his expeditions 
anyone who would be likely to understand them. As to 
the number of antelopes he could kill, he was only limited 
by the time occupied, if the game was plentiful, even if 
the number only reached into the dozens. He had an 
open challenge against the world, to the amount of five 
hundred dollars, that he could kill more antelope in one 
day than any other man in this or any other country. 

On one occasion, just after a hard blizzard, it was re- 
ported in the town that there were fully a thousand ante- 
lope congregated about ten miles north. Two of the best 
hunters in the place at once organized a grand hunt for 
the next day. That evening they called upon Colonel 
Jones, laid their plans before him, and insisted that he 
must join them on the morrow. The Colonel was not 
that kind of a hunter, however, for he always planned 
and executed according to his own ideas, and then car- 
ried them out to the very letter. After many apologies 
he succeeded in convincing them that it was impossible 
for him to go with them. 

At sunrise the next morning, eighteen men armed with 
Winchesters and shotguns, accompanied by a dozen grey- 
hounds, started out for their anticipated great slaughter, 
taking wagons enough with them to haul a hundred ante- 
lope to market. The day was an ideal one, and the Colo- 



THE CHAMPION ANTELOPE-HUNTER 199 

nel was out of sorts because he could not be at work with 
his favorite weapon among the antelope, but was too 
honorable to go where his neighbors had gone, after he 
had refused to accompany them. About three o'clock 
p. M,, his neighbor Jessup, an old Quaker, came puffing up 
to the Colonel's residence, and inquired, "Why don't thee 
go out to my house and get some antelope for thee and 
me?" Learning from the kind-hearted old gentleman 
that there was a small herd of thirteen near his ranch, 
only three miles distant, the Colonel saddled his thorough- 
bred " Kentuck" and was soon on the trail to the Quaker's. 
Arriving at the house, he discovered that the old man's 
dog had been chasing the animals and they were very 
timid; so he did not get near them until nearly sundown. 
When the hunt was over, he had bagged eleven out of the 
thirteen. The Colonel then hired a son of the old Quaker 
to haul nine of them to the railroad station, leaving two 
with the family whose head had so kindly informed him 
of the presence of the antelope on his ranch. Imagine 
the humiliation of the eighteen hunters on their return to 
town in the beautiful moonlight that night, to find them- 
selves the possessors of but seven out of a thousand, and 
the Colonel having killed eleven out of a herd of only 
thirteen . 

Many such incidents could be related, but one must 
suffice. It is from his remarkable success with antelope 
that he enjoys an international reputation as "the cham- 
pion antelope-hunter of the world." 

The American antelope is generally known as the 
prong-horned antelope, and sheds its horns annually. 
Unlike the deer, elk, and others of that particular group, 
it has hollow horns, like the cow, goat, and sheep, and is 
the only animal of this class which sheds its horns in this 
way. The bony prong never drops off, but the sheath 
which covers it slips off, and another is quickly grown to 
cover it. 

The mating season is in October, when the males, do 



200 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

hard fighting, and may be seen pursuing each other with 
wonderful rapidity, for half a day at a time. Their mus- 
cles are 'then in a great state of development, and it is 
useless for a greyhound to attempt to catch one at this 
season of the year. 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE LAST HUNT ! 

ON THE DESERT WHERE THE RAIN WAS WITHHELD LET- 
TERS CONVEYING NEWS BENT OUT BY CARRIER-PIGEONS 

BUFFALO DISCOVERED EFFORT TO CORRAL THE HERD 

THREE CALVES QUICKLY CAPTURED THE MOTHERS' DES- 
PERATE CHARGE DELUGE COMES UNEXPECTEDLY "THE 

WAY TO CATCH A BUFFALO CALF IS TO CATCH IT " — 
ROPING FULL-GROWN BUFFALO — DANGEROUS OPERATION 

DESPERADOES CAMPED WITH THE PARTY — AWAITING 

THE LAST OPPORTUNITY ON " JUBAR " — FORTY-TWO DAYS 
AND NIGHTS IN PURSUIT OF THE LAST HERD — TAME AS 

CATTLE SO GENTLE THEY WOULD EVEN RUN UNDER THE 

SADDLE-HORSES, RATHER THAN LEAVE THEIR RANGE 

COLONEL Jones's wonderful success recorded in his- 
tory, NEVER TO BE OBLITERATED 

THE story of the last buffalo-hunt is graphically told 
in Colonel Jones's journal, under date of May 
16th, 1889. There is something very sad in the 
fact that at this time the great animals were al- 
most extinct, which less than twenty years previously 
were so numerous that the United States troops in their 
expeditions against the hostile tribes of Indians were fre- 
quently compelled to fire into the vast herds, to turn 
them and prevent them from overriding the command. 

Colonel Jones's entry recording his last hunt for buf- 
faloes is dated at Arito Blanco, a small stream about 

* ( 201 ) 



202 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

thirty miles south of the Canadian river, in the Pan- 
handle of Texas. He says: 

"I fear this is the most stupendous of all my under- 
takings. Everything goes to make the task of capturing 
a herd of wild buffalo more difficult. It appears there 
has been no rain in this desert for years past. Surely, 
there must be a Joshua in these remote and God-forsaken 
wilds, who is withholding the rain. Should we see him, 
a lasso is just as apt to encircle his neck as a buffalo 
calf's, until we see the deluge forthcoming. 

"Then, too, the buffalo are scattered to the four winds, 
and hide away in deep canons. They instinctively know 
their doom is sealed. How different they appear from 
those of old ! — the sluggish, drooping, lazy creatures they 
were. They now keep their sense of sight, smell, sound 
and feeling wrought up to such a tension that they are 
often gone long before we have discovered their presence, 
only their tracks remaining to betray their former haunts. 
These we discover by the keen scent of our bloodhounds ; 
but it is so dry that they are unable to pursue the trail 
any great distance. 

" Don't be surprised if we do not catch a single animal. 
The opportunities for such expeditions have passed for- 
ever, and can only be read of, by future generations. How 
sad ! How shameful ! And more, to this and past genera- 
tions, how disgraceful! 

"As I expect to reach the Denver & Fort Worth Rail- 
road in a couple of days, I note here some of the incidents 
of this exciting expedition, since I sent the last pigeon off 
to the north three days ago." 

It is better, perhaps, that I interpolate here the letter 
which that pigeon carried, as it will render the story of 
the final hunt more intelligible to the reader. The pigeon 
referred to by Colonel Jones was the first sent away from 
the locality where he then was, to carry to Garden City 
the report of the progress of the last buft'alo-hunt, where 



STARTING FOE THE HUNTING-GROUNDS 203 

it was repeated by wire to the Chicago Times, which had 
furnished the Colonel with carrier-pigeons in order to get 
the first news of this hunt of all hunts, either ancient or 
modern. The text of that letter was: 

"Arito Blanco, Northwest Texas, 
May 10, 1889. 

" Dick Williams and I left Garden City, Kansas, accord- 
ing to arrangements previously agreed upon, on the 2d 
day of May, at 2 : 10 a. m. , with a light buggy, to which were 
attached a pair of the very best roadsters in the country. 
In two days we arrived at the headwaters of the North 
Canadian, a distance of one hundred and fifty-five miles, 
or an average of seventy-seven and a half miles a day, 
which proves the superior endurance of the animals. I 
found all my men nicely established in camp, eagerly 
awaiting my arrival and anxious to begin the exciting 
work for which they had come. They had been prospect- 
ing over a great range of country in northwestern Texas, 
and luckily had located two small herds of buffalo, one of 
which comprised two bulls and twelve cows. 

" Immediately upon this gratifying report I organized 
an expedition, consisting of Lee Howard, William Terrill, 
and myself. We prepared a week's rations, a barrel of 
water, and for our transportation six riding-horses and 
two mule teams. On the morning of the 6th we drew 
out, heading for 'Antelope Draw,' some forty miles from 
our camp, at which point we were certain the fourteen 
buffalo were hiding in the breaks of the sandhills. This 
was a sequestered locality, where man rarely penetrated, 
and where the grass was green, as the snow had drifted on 
the sides of the divides and moistened the earth, thereby 
giving vegetation an early start. We arrived in the vicin- 
ity of Antelope Draw early that evening, when Howard, 
who was riding in advance, suddenly signaled for us to 
halt. In a few moments he rode back to where we were 
waiting, and reported everything 'all O. K.,' upon which 



204 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

we turned off to the left and went into camp for the night, 
anxious for the contest with the buffalo next morning. 

" The day broke dark and drizzling. Nevertheless, we 
were up betimes, and, breakfast out of the way, we 
mounted our horses and started for our covey. We routed 
the shaggy beasts early, and never were animals more 
surprised. They were terribly alarmed at our unexpected 
presence, perfectly frantic with fear, and began to stam- 
j)ede in every direction, but they soon joined the main 
herd. We took everything very easy, made all the 'cut- 
offs ' possible, thus saving the wind of our horses ; while 
the excited buffalo sometimes made great circles to avoid 
us, traveling that day at least a hundred miles, while we 
did not exceed three-fourths that distance. 

" The bulls were very poor and shaggy, soon dropping 
out, leaving the twelve cows, which by the third day of 
the chase became so gentle we could ride within two hun- 
dred yards of them without any difficulty. On that af- 
ternoon, as we were passing the mouth of a canon, five 
immense cows and three baby buffaloes winded us, and 
dashed out into the prairie, much to our astonishment 
and delight. Terrill and I were in the light wagon and 
Howard on horseback. As soon as I grasped the situa- 
tion I shouted to Howard : ' Save the calves 1 Save the 
calves 1 ' and in another instant he was rushing over the 
j)rairie toward them like the shadow of a rapidly moving 
cloud. Nearer and nearer he approached the frightened 
little brutes, which now, seeing they were pursued, 
strained every nerve to escape. Howard was swinging 
his lasso over his head, as is the custom, to give it the 
proper momentum, and I could almost hear it hiss, its 
velocity increasing as he gained on the soon-to-be cap- 
tives. Gracefully it shot far out in a beautiful curve, 
and coiled around the neck of the calf in the lead, al- 
though it was hugging its excited mother's shaggy shoul- 
ders. It was a beautiful sight to the true hunter, and 
was enjoyed by us far beyond any utilitarian result it 



THE MOTHER BUFFALO'b DESPERATE CHARGE 205 

might possess for me. Howard was on his favorite horse 
'Charlie,' a famous racer among the cowboys of the Ca- 
nadian. Besides, Howard had been perfectly trained to 
the work he was now engaged in, as the ranchmen always 
paid him extra wages to lasso their calves for brand- 
ing. It was a relatively easy task to accomplish with 
such a rider on his back, but impossible for a ' tender- 
foot,' had one attempted it. 

" The calf, as the rope pulled it up short, tuml^led in a 
heap. The horse, supposing it was the cow which was 
wanted, sped right on until he reached the end of the 
lasso, when the calf began to dangle like a rubber ball at- 
tached to a string. At tliis juncture, Howard pulled the 
bridle-reins with a desperate jerk which instantly brought 
* Charlie ' to a standstill on his hind legs, and in a mo- 
ment put a noose, he had already prepared, around the 
■calf's neck, took a couple of half-hitches about its hind 
legs, and then with the graceful swing of a Carmencita, 
he swung to his place in the saddle. 

" Once more firmly in his seat, his horse was under full 
speed after the flying herd. A few seconds elapsed, and 
another calf was floundering at the end of the rope like 
a trout pulled from the stream by a skillful angler. 

" By this time the enraged mother, fairly wild with the 
development of her maternal instinct, had detfrminod to 
attempt the rescue of her offspring. She dashed at the 
•enemy with all the ferocity of her outraged nature; her 
•eyes looked like balls of fire; her hair Ijristled all over 
with battle, like that of a wildcat at bay; and her tail 
stuck straight out like the jil>])oom of a yacht. She was 
the very incarnation of fury and fight. I saw at a glance 
that she meant ' business,' and 3"el led to Howard : 'Go I 
Your life 's in danger I Go quick I ' He ol^eyed my injunc- 
tion just in time, for the charging brute barely missed im- 
paling him on her sharp horns, as the plunging horse 
sprang forward in response to the rolling steel of the 
spurs. Howard suddenly whirled in the saddle, and dis- 



206 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

charged his revolver ( a big 44 Remington ) at the cow 
just as she reached him. Tlie shot made her stagger, and 
■ in a moment both horse and rider were beyond immediate 
harm, and the cow soon sank to Mother Earth. Our 
spring wagon was light, and by laying the lashes on we 
managed to keep v/ell up with the procession. Howard 
was still in the saddle, and pursuing the calf that had en- 
deavored to overtake the herd. 

" ' Five to one he gets the other calf ! ' I shouted in my 
excitement, as the little animal swiftly crossed a small 
hill, — but of course there were no takers present. Sure 
enough, as we drove up the hill which had hidden How- 
ard from view for a few moments, I saw he had caught and 
tied it, and was awaiting the arrival of the wagon to take 
it with the other captives to camp. 

"These calves were captured at the head of the Agua 
Frio, in Texas. The cows we had been driving stam- 
peded, and we had to abandon the pursuit, as we could 
not very well continue it and save our calves, which were 
of more importance just then than the herd just aban- 
doned, for ' a bird in the hand' was worth far more than 
the buffaloes on the Plains. So we started for camp, and 
arrived safely, with the calves intact, where they nursed 
the fine Galloway cows we had brought along for that pur- 
pose. 

"I shall not at present pursue the cows we abandoned, 
unless we can start as many as twenty-five, and not then 
until all have dropped their calves. We have seen but 
twenty-four altogether. Verily, the days of the l)uffalo 
are numbered. There cannot be more than one hundred 
left in the whole United States, outside of those in the 
National Park, and they will proljably be destroyed by 
the hunters before winter sets in. 

"May 11. Oh, heavens! what a night has just gone I 
Surely Joshua has repented, and asked for rain. Dick 
Williams and I had camped in a ' draw ' or little gulch, a 



DELUGE COMES UNEXPECTEDLY 207 

short distance from the Coklwater, a stream the most 
properly named in America. Generally, the creeks and 
rivers on the Plains are misnomers, but this one did not 
come in the usual category last night. It was cold, oh, 
how cold ! We had nothing with us but the buggy and a 
tarpaulin, and made our bed with the latter, in the depths 
of the gulch, out of the wind as much as possible, which 
was blowing furiously, at the rate of at least fifty miles 
an hour. No clouds had appeared on the horizon that 
afternoon or evening, to warn us of coming rain, yet 
about midnight a veritable waterspout seemed to have 
emptied its contents upon our defenseless heads. In less 
time than it takes to record it, we were in the midst of a 
mighty flood. Underneath us, where a few seconds before 
the ground was as dry as a powderhorn, it was now filled 
with water nearly waist deep, and increasing rapidly. 

" We quickly gathered all our traps, which were already 
soaked, threw them into the buggy, and I seized the 
buggy-pole and shouted in the darkness to Dick, to push ; 
and thus, blundering over the sharp stones, l^arefooted, 
we hauled the vehicle to higher ground. 

"We were completely drenched; there was not a single 
dry thread on us, and still the cold rain and sleet con- 
tinued to pour remorselessly down upon us. Dick, in the 
excitement, had lost his boots, hat, coat and vest in the 
roaring flood, and I the key to my 'gripsack' as I tossed 
my vest into the buggy. 

"As Swift sa-ys, 'The Lord tempers the wind to the 
shorn lamb.' I had a beautiful match-l)ox which had 
been given me the year before by a young lady whom I 
had saved from drowning, while she was roaming through 
the Rocky Mountains, and in it were the only dry things 
of all OUT l^elongings. On the inside of the safe was a 
place to strike the matches, and of course it had not be- 
come wet. So I struck one of the delicate little pieces of 
wood, fortunately found my key, opened my ' grip,' where 
was concealed a pint of whisky ( for snake-bites), together 



208 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

with plenty of quinine. We each swallowed a four-grain 
capsule of the marvelous drug, and, washing it down with 
a little of the corn-juice, rolled ourselves in our wet 
wraps, where we steamed like pigs until the morning 
sun, much to our relief, appeared on the now clear hori- 
zon. 

"The half-naked Dick immediately commenced a vig- 
orous search for his lost garments, and fortunately found 
them lodged in bunches of willows down the stream, half 
a mile away, and he was as happy as a boy with his first 
pair of boots. His clothes were saturated with mud, and 
he had the pleasure of washing them before he could put 
them on. 

"We got off in good time, notwithstanding our mis- 
haps. 

"I have delayed sending the pigeon on account of the 
storm, but it now goes. 

" I met one of m}^ boys to-day, and he informs me that 
they caught another calf yesterday, making four in all. 
I fear I am too late to capture a herd of any size this sea- 
son. Will dispatch another pigeon in a few days. 

"All well. C. J. Jones." 

I now take up the record of the journal where I left it 
to relate the contents of the pigeon-letter. On that date, 
evidently in the evening, when in camp, and work had 
been suspended until the morrow, Colonel Jones wrote as 
follows : 

" We made a drive of thirty miles to the southeast that 
day, and saw eleven buffalo cows, but did not attempt to 
disturb them, as I wished to encounter a much larger 
herd before undertaking to drive any in. As I was turn- 
ing the team around the head of the gulch, which is about 
twenty miles above the headwaters of the Beaver river, 
two large cows with one calf accompanying them sud- 
denly ' winded ' me and went scampering over the prairie 
in a southwest direction. I had no saddle; neither spurs 



EXCITING CHASE AFTER A CALF 209 

nor revolver. Dick Williams, who was to keep near the 
wagon, riding the fast running-horse 'Cannon Ball,' was 
fully equipped with all the accoutrements necessary for 
such an occasion, ]nit he was nowhere in sight. What 
should I do ? There was a calf worth a thousand dollars, 
and all that I had to do was to catch it. In an instant I 
was out of the wagon, off came the harness from one of the 
horses, and snatching a rope used to picket the team at 
night, I mounted the animal bareback and was away like 
a flash. 

" By the time I had finished my crude preparations for 
pursuing the animals, they were at least half a mile in 
advance. My horse, only a buggy animal, knew nothing 
whatever of what was expected of him ; he was as green as 
a tenderfoot on his initial tour of the Plains. I made 
him understand, however, by the application of the rope, 
that he was to get over the ground as fast as his legs could 
carry him. He became convinced of this fact in propor- 
tion to the vigor with which I laid on the lashes.. In less 
than a hundred yards away, my hat went flying in the 
breeze, but right on I flew, regardless of everything but 
my mission, as I pressed on to the coveted treasure. Only 
a short distance more to gr.in, and then I would be be- 
tween the calf and its mother. The calf seemed to realize 
this as well as I, and the last hundred yards were the 
hardest to gain in the whole race. I laid on more of the 
rope, came closer to the little brute, which now began to 
grunt like a pig waiting for swill. Suddenly the old cow 
stiffened her fore legs, threw her hinder parts around in 
the air, and, using her front legs as a pivot, reversed ends 
in a second. 

"I took in the situation at once, having Ijeen accus- 
tomed to such tactics before, and by a desperate effort, 
crowded in ahead of the calf, and bore it away to the 
northwest. The mother looked first at her calf and my- 
self, then at the other cow, fleeing in the opposite direc- 
-14 



210 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

tion, when to my surprise and delight, she turned and 
resumed her flight with her companion. 

"At the turn things had taken I Ijreathed a sigh of re- 
lief, as I had no revolver with which to protect myself in 
case of emergencies, and muttered, 'All I have to do now 
is to catch the calf,' and paraphrasing the celebrated say- 
ing of Horace Greeley, ' The way to resume is to resume,' 
— ' the way to catch a buffalo calf is to catch it.' 

"Making a noose as I sped along, I gathered up the 
heavy rope and swung it over my head, preparatory to 
throwing the precious circle around the hoped-for cap- 
tive's neck; but my 1)roncho was not used to having 
anything of the kind flying above his head — the only 
instrument he was accustomed to was the ])utt end of a 
whip in the hands of my hostler, who often had knocked 
him down with it when he balked in harness. 

"You should have seen that Ijroncho dodge and buck. 
He was worse scared than the game we were pursuing, and 
his antics gave the calf an advantage. 

"The calf soon broadened the distance between us of 
more than the length of a dozen ropes. Still, 'all I had 
to do was to catch the calf.' It was ' a ground-hog case,' 
but I was satisfied that without saddle, spurs, or proper 
lasso, I was not going to succeed, and concluded the best 
thing was to turn the fleet-footed little rascal down to- 
wards the east, where I had last seen Dick. 

"I swung my rope again, but for a different purpose 
this time, laying it on behind me in such a vigorous man- 
ner that the broncho quickly appreciated what it meant, 
and accordingly got down to his work without any further 
misunderstanding l^etween us, and I soon had the calf 
turned and headed in the right direction. 

"We had already traveled fully six miles, and as we 
went lumbering down the grade I began to realize that I 
had DO saddle under me. Yet this was the last chance, 
probably, to catch a wild buffalo calf, so I must not 
grumble at any of the contingent inconveniences of the 



WILLIAMS TO THE RESCUE 211 

occasion ; consequently I immediately rose superior to 
my discomforts. 

"While thus cogitating, I presently came in sight of 
'Starvation Peak,' an elevated plateau extending into the 
valley of the Beaver, and separated from the high plains 
contiguous to the river by a channel or gulch aliout fifty 
feet wide and a hundred feet deep ; its sides rocky, pre- 
cipitous, and its top, which juts out like a headland, in- 
accessible except from the valley on the north of it. 
What the legend is from which it derives its name, I do 
not know. When I neared this strange formation in the 
otherwise relatively smooth elevated country, I saw Dick 
coming to my relief. He had seen my predicament 
(chasing the calf) with his field-glass, from the farther 
side of the valley, but in ascending to intersect me he 
rode up to the peak, supposing it was the great plateau 
which I was on. He was not aware of its abrupt termina- 
tion, but pulled up in time to save himself from precipi- 
tation down the precipice. For a few moments he stood 
upon its awful edge, reminding me, as I gazed at him, of 
one of the bronze equestrian statues which grace the parks 
of the nation's capital. He seemed to me fixed there for 
a quarter of an hour — perhaps it was not a single minute — 
when he wheeled his horse, rode back to the point where 
he had ascended, and then disappeared from my sight, in 
the valley. 

"All this time I was dashing on, nearing opposit<^ 
the spot where I had seen him pass out of my vision, when 
suddenly I saw him coming up the ravine as rapidly as 
his horse could carry him to intercept me. I halted on 
the instant, waiting for him to reach me, when we changed 
animals, I grasping his lasso as quickly as possible, and 
away 'Cannon Ball' shot off with me after the much- 
fatigued calf. My lasso twirled in the air, as with one 
desperate throw I placed it around the neck of the l^eauti- 
ful^ heifer I had been chasing under such difiiculties all 
the greater portion of the afternoon. We soon had it in 



212 FORTY YEAR8 OF ADVENTURES 

the buggy and rolled off for camp, which was reached 
Bafely at 2 o'clock that night. 

"We now have five calves running with our milch cows, 
all doing finely. Our special artist has taken some photo- 
graphs of them and the varied features of our camp-life, 
as well as places of interest; but these I am soi'ry I can- 
not forward to you at this time. 

" On the morning of the 12th one of our cowboys, Gran- 
ville Thompson, left us on a tour to the northwest. He 
was to meet us at camp the second night, but failed to put 
in an appearance. We retired without him, knowing he 
was no ' tenderfoot,' but perfectly able to care for himself, 
unless disabled by some accident. The next morning, 
however, fearing that some misfortune might have over- 
taken him, all the men occupied themselves in searching 
for their lost comrade. He was met at noon the next day, 
having been without food or shelter for fifty-two hours, 
during which time it had hailed, rained and sleeted. He 
was very pale, and nearly dead ; but a little whisky, hot 
coffee and some substantial food, prepared and adminis- 
tered by our noble and trustworthy chief commissary, J. 
W. Kennedy, soon revived him. He stated that he was 
subject to heart disease, and before he had gone twenty- 
five miles from camp the morning he left us he was seized 
with a severe attack of dizziness, fell from his horse, and 
knew nothing until late in the afternoon of the next day, 
when he recovered, finding his animal quietly grazing near 
him. He was so bewildered that he could not tell where 
he was, or how he came to be in such a position, and only 
by the sheerest accident struck our trail. I do not intend 
to let him take any more such chances, but keep him close 
in, while some of our ' tenderfeet ' will venture out. 

"The pigeon now goes. Each of us will throw one of 
our old shoes after it for luck. C. J. J." 



lassoing buffalo c0wb 213 

"May 16, 1889. 

"After sending off my letters yesterday, I heard there 
were a few buffalo lingering in the vicinity of Mustang 
creek, so immediately broke camp to go there. 

"I continue iny journal in our new camp on the Mus- 
tang, where we arrived early this evening, and are ready 
to commence operations in the morning, as I have con- 
cluded not to any longer ignore small herds, but take what 
conies to my fortune. 

"When I left home on this expedition, I hoped to find 
a herd of at least twenty-five or thirty ])uff"alo, and 
'round' them up into camp in a single drove. But, in- 
stead of the animals being in herds, we found they were 
scattered in small groups of two or three; consequently 
we are forced to cliange our tactics, and I have decided 
to depend upon the lasso and capture each buffalo sepa- 
rately. To-morrow will decide permanently as to what 
we can accomplish." 

" The morning of the 18th broke bright and warm. We 
mounted three of our strongest and fleetest horses, and 
started out for the hunt. On arriving where the buffalo 
were, we found that the herd consisted of onlythree cows, 
and as it would not pay for the trouble of driving them, 
we decided to rope one by way of experiment. 

" Lee Howard was appointed to do the lassoing, but it 
was to be on the fore leg only, as we all well knew that to 
attempt to catch a Ijuffalo cow around the horns or neck 
would be as fruitless of results as to lasso a locomotive 
going at the rate of thirty miles an hour. De Cardova, 
the moment Howard had succeeded in roping the fore leg, 
was to 'heel' her (catch a noose around the cow's hind 
leg), and then stretch her out so quickly she would not 
have time to gather herself in her surprise. 

" Everything now ready for the attack, I took the hob- 
bles, consisting of two log-chains, two feet long, with ex- 
ceedingly heavy straps at the ends, having strong buckles. 



214 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

We cautiously maneuvered until within a hundred and 
fifty yards of the cows, when, at a given signal, we dug 
our spurs into the sides of the horses and dashed frantic- 
ally over a small hill which had hidden the buffalo from 
our view. 

"Never have I seen buffalo so completely surprised: 
they were absolutely paralyzed, standing as motionless as 
if glued to the earth, tremblingly gazing at the cyclone of 
horses and dust which was forced upon them, until we 
were within seventy-five yards, when they fled with that 
wonderful energy characteristic of their species, each one 
leaving an arc of dirt in its tracks, one end beginning at 
their heels, the other endiaig in our mouths and eyes. 

"We still gained on them, however, handicapped as we 
were, though we could scarcely see; our eyes were full of 
water, dirt and dust, and we could have furnished enough 
material to make mud-pies for a whole kindergarten. The 
wind, too, was blowing almost a gale from the northwest, 
which was another cause of hindrance to us, our bodies 
catching its full force, and thus acting as a brake on the 
speed of the horses. The buffalo had a decided advan- 
tage of our animals under such circumstances, as buffalo 
always — unlike deer, elk, and some other of the rumi- 
nants — run against the wind. 

"Fortunately, the contour of the country suddenly 
changed, and our game was compelled to alter its course, 
swerving more and more to the left, thus giving us the 
advantage. We constantly gained on the runaways, soon 
coming within twenty yards of them. 

"Howard was on his horse 'Charlie,' De Cardova, an 
expert roper, on ' Cannon Ball,' while I ' held the fort' on 
'Kentuck.' 

" Our opportunity had now arrived; we all realized it 
without a word or sign from anyone. Howard's lasso be- 
gan to swing around his head ; ' Charlie ' appeared to, and 
I really believe did, intelligently know what was demanded 
of him, for the moment he heard the whiz of the rope above 



THE CROWNING STRUGGLE 215 

him he made a gaHant spurt up to the cows, which were 
fairly plowing up the earth in their efforts to escape. 

" Howard unfortunately allowed ' Charlie ' to crowd too 
close, and not being able to watch the eyes and quick mo- 
tions of the three cows at one time, found himself in a 
critical condition. One of the frightened beasts, the sec- 
ond cow from him, on his right, made up her mind that 
' leg bail ' would not any longer serve her at this particu- 
lar juncture, and acting upon her decision, dashed fu- 
riously at the horse, but in the moment lost in changing 
her huge quarters half-way round, was balked in her desire 
to disembowel the active animal. She got in just behind 
'Charlie,' and in front of De Cardova, when, seeing she 
would miss her original mark, she threw her head around 
and struck ' Charlie ' a well-directed blow with the side of 
her horn, causing him to stagger for a few steps; yet he 
still dashed bravely on, the rope whirling in the air all the 
time. 

"I had about made up my mind that Howard was really 
afraid to throw the lasso under the close circumstances in 
which he was placed, but was deceived; he was only wait- 
ing to make a sure thing of it, for in a few seconds away 
went the rope like a flash of lightning, while my heart al- 
ternately fluttered between hope and fear, and I almost 
held my breath, waiting for the result. 

" No sooner did the lasso leave the skilled hands of 
Howard, than ' Charley' was so suddenly stopped that he 
fell back on his hauiiches as if he were shot. The rope 
had struck its mark. How the great shaggy monster 
rolled over and over, like a grizzly turning somersaults ! 
But De Cordova, knowing his part in the tragedy full well, 
by a simple twist of his right arm placed his rope over 
her hind leg as he swiftly dashed by, before she could 
gain her equilibrium. 

"Now for the crowning struggle 1 Each horse under- 
stood his duty, just what was expected of him, and pulled 
back, with his head to the enemy, like a bulldog holding 



216 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

on to the ear of an antagonist in the pit. Howard had 
caught the right fore leg around the fetlock, the exact 
place intended, and all the efforts of the cow to get on 
her feet were in vain ; she was tighter than any vise could 
have held her. 

"It was now my turn to finish the last act of the 
drama, and I was determined not to be behind in my 
part. I slid off of ' Kentuck,' but took care to hold fast to 
the rope, one end of which was tied around his neck ; and 
as I approached the cow, the vicious beast grew more des- 
perate than ever in her rage, acting as if she were a car- 
nivorous animal and wanted to devour me. She struck 
at me with her horns until her ribs rattled, as her head 
pounded her sides in her fruitless efforts to reach me ; 
then she used her loose foot, kicking and striking until 
she was actually exhausted. I finally buckled the hobble 
on her loose front leg, but could not manage to get it on 
the hind one; so I took my lasso, threw it around the 
hind leg, ran the rope through the ring of the chain next 
to the fore leg, drew the two near together, and fastened 
them in that position. I then had no difficulty in adjust- 
ing the hobbles firmly. Now everything was ready to 
turn her loose. 

"As soon as the horses commenced to slacken the ropes, 
she would begin to struggle. I gave the order for both of 
the men to detach the ropes from their saddles at the 
same instant, but was very careful myself to be mounted 
on ' Kentuck ' before giving the signal to put my order 
into execution. 

" The ropes slackened, she was on her feet in a moment, 
with back bowed, tail curled over her back, nose almost 
touching the ground, hair all bristling in her rage, eyes 
green as goggles, — in short, the very incarnation of fight 
to the death 1 She made all sorts of attempts to charge 
upon us, but would only tumble for her pains; and when 
she tried to run, the only effect was to shake the ropes off 
Jier feet, — which was just what we desired, only the boys 



A HORSE-THIEF WHO WAS " MISSED " 217 

had to ride forward and pick them off the ground without 
dismounting. 

"We watched her a few moments, then bade her fare- 
well for a few days and returned to our camp, where we 
discussed the advisability of hobbling, instead of driving 
the remainder of the buffaloes into captivity. 

"I concluded to try this plan at all events, and sent 
out my assistants in different directions to reconnoiter 
for the whereabouts of the last herd, which did not ex- 
ceed twenty-five in number. I gave them orders to re- 
turn next day, knowing that some of the party would 
surely find the buffalo by that time, as there were but 
four places where they could water, and they v/ould leave 
their tracks where they had been to drink recently. 

"My brother Henry was left to guard the home camp, 
and take care of the calves already caught. He was a 
man of varied experience, both on the Plains and in civil- 
ized life; having been marshal of several large cities in 
Illinois, a conductor on one of the great trunk rail- 
roads, and had also served with success as a private de- 
tective. I had therefore no hesitation in leaving him in 
charge, although we knew that many horse-thieves and 
cutthroats were lurking in the vicinity, and it required a 
man of nerve to assume the grave responsibility. I had 
loaned one of my teams to the sheriff of Haskell county, 
Kansas, who said he was pursuing a horse-thief. He re- 
turned in a few days with the stolen animals, but the thief 
was missing, and it was generally understood and believed 
that the officer had killed him and left his bones to bleach 
somewhere on the Staked Plains. I also learned that the 
alleged thief was merely trying to get out of the country, to 
prevent a money-loaner from taking his only team by virtue 
of a chattel mortgage he held on them ; also, that he was 
in possession of several hundred dollars when he left home, 
which should have liquidated the debt. If we had been 
informed of the real facts, my own team would have had 



218 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

more flesh on its bones, and the unfortunate man still be 
alive. 

"After we had gone on our search for the herd of buf- 
falo, at sundown of that day, three of the most desperate 
characters that ever infested the region rode up to camp, 
alighted from three most magnificent animals, and told 
my brother they desired to put up with him that night. 
He was well posted, and spotted the fellows at once ; the 
leader being easily recognized by the absence of one fin- 
ger, which had been shot off some years before, and he 
was known by the name of 'Three-finger Jack.' My 
brother could do nothing but treat them as gentlemen, 
and permit them to have their own way. He prepared an 
excellent supper, from the best articles in camp : buffalo- 
steak, antelope, potatoes, bread, butter, and a variety of 
canned goods. 

"There were two apartments to the dugout, and my 
brother invited them to sleep in the inner room, to which 
they strenuously objected, however, declaring they wanted 
to be near the door in case anything happened to their 
horses. All three carried a Winchester each, and two 
large revolvers, and slept with them at their sides. 

" Henry was compelled to occupy the inner room, but 
was careful to bar the door. He had recently returned 
from the East, and had brought with him a very fine pair 
of trousers, which hung upon a nail in the apartment oc- 
cupied by the desperadoes. In the morning the trousers 
were missing; but he Avent right ahead to get a nice 
breakfast, saying nothing until the men had finished. 
Then he said : 

" ' Boys, I have tried to treat you as nicely as I know 
how; now won't you please leave my trousers, as I cer- 
tainly shall need them before I can reach any place where 
I can procure another pair.' 

"In a moment everything was as quiet as the grave. At 
last one of the men spoke up, and said: 




AWAITING THE LAST OPPORTUNITY FOR A CALF, ON JUBAR. 



CAPTURE OF THE LAST CALF 219 

" 'We haven't got your pants. What's the matter 
with you ? ' 

"'Yes,' answered my brother; 'this gentleman has 
them on under his overalls, as is plainly seen.' 

" Then spoke the accused : 

" ' Well, what are you going to do about it ? ' 

" 'I can do nothing, of course,' answered my brother; 
'but I consider you no gentleman, after being cared for 
as you have been, to delil)erately steal my pants. 

" 'Then come and take them,' replied the other, as he 
placed his hand on his revolver. 

"My brother didn't want them just then, nor has he 
at any time since I 

"While out making calculations for the grand drive of 
the last herd, I saw a cow and calf coming from beyond 
a low ridge ; I quickly dropped down on my horse, 'Jubar,' 
whirled him about, ran back a few rods, and awaited the 
last opportunity for a buffalo calf. 

"The cow came moping over the divide, and failed to 
notice me, as my horse understood his part of the pro- 
gram, and never moved. When within a hundred yards, 
the calf gave a grunt, which I recognized as an indication 
that it had discovered my presence. The cow whirled 
around, and started off at a terrific speed, and as the calf 
was a large one it held its place close to her shaggy side. 
All I had to do was to give 'Jubar' the rein, and he did 
the rest. Within half a mile he overtook the fleeing 
objects, and as I whirled the lasso in the air, the cow 
made an extra effort, leaving the calf a few feet behind. 
It was just what was needed, and I laid the golden wreath 
around the neck of the last buffalo calf ever captured. 

"And here (though I dimly realized it at the time) 
the curtain fell, the lights were out. The drama had 
been played for the last time, and the curtain will never 
again be rung up. 



220 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

"After establishing camp on the headwaters of the 
Paladura, we all went out to reconnoiter the whereabouts 
of the last herd. In the evening, De Cordova reported 
having discovered twenty cows and one bull about eight 
miles from camp. The next morning, after an under- 
standing or code of signals and orders of operation had 
been written out by me, the signal was given to move. 
Mr. Howard had command, and was to follow the herd, 
' to the ends of the earth,' if necessary. The company was 
never to lose sight of them, day or night, if it could be 
prevented. Should the herd esca[)e during the night, 
bloodhounds were to be put on its trail until the buffalo 
were overtaken ; but resort to this method must not be 
had if by other means it could be avoided. 

" Those in camp were always to keep watch from a high 
butte by day and by night, and like the devoted Aztecs, 
who keep the fire glowing for the return of Montezuma, 
so the watchman was to always keep a beacon-fire on the 
summit and watch for signals. 

" When the drivers of the herd were sighted, the reserve 
at camp was to go immediately with fresh men and 
horses to relieve those who had been on the drive. Never 
was there more systematic organization. 

"Everything ready, Howard with one other man started 
twenty-two full-grown buffaloes, — twenty-one cows and 
heifers, and one bull. The bull had been wounded, and 
on the second day became so lame that he dropped out of 
the herd. 

"A light rain fell the night before starting them, and 
the weather was favorable, the recent rains making it easy 
to track the animals, which was necessary in the morn- 
ings, after the shades of night had vanished. 

" The buffalo at first endeavored to shake off their pur- 
suers, especially at night, but by ten o'clock the next day 
they were sure to be overtaken. They invariably held 
a straight general course ; therefore the tracks could be 
easily followed, while the pursuers' horses could take a 



DBIVING THE BUFFALOEB 221 

swinging trot. When first sighted the l^ierd would go ' all 
to pieces,' but by proper strategy and even movements on 
our part, would soon come together. 

"It was the fourth day before the camp was sighted. 
Men, team, and saddle-horses were in a deplorable condi- 
tion. Only one water-hole had been found, and had it not 
been for the water carried in a barrel, the pursuit nnist 
have been abandoned. During the first three days' drive 
the herd avoided water altogether, which shows their en- 
durance on the desert to be equal to that of the camel, and 
their capacity for ranging a great distance from water to 
be unprecedented. 

" When camp was reached, Howard, like a true veteran 
soldier, refused a furlough, and joined the relief for an- 
other trial. To l)e sure, it was a great relief to him to se- 
cure a fresh man and team, as he could sleep in the spring 
wagon as it wended its way over the Plains. It was 
agreed that Mr. Howard should remain with the herd 
until I should call a halt." 

Now, as the animals had become somewhat tractable 
and could be turned in almost any direction. Colonel 
Jones, having urgent business at home, took a saddle- 
horse and began his wearisome journey to Garden City. 

It is claimed that Napoleon, after laying out his plans 
of battle and giving his generals minute orders of opera- 
tion, would invariably lie down and take a nap, until the 
victory was won. Not so with the Colonel. He con- 
cluded his business the day after reaching home, and 
then organized another expedition, separated twenty-five 
of the domesticated buffalo from the cattle on his ranch, 
and drove them over 200 miles to the main camp in Texas. 
The next morning after arriving there, he dispatched a 
messenger on a fresh horse, with orders to Mr. Howard to 
drive in the twenty-one buffalo, which he had now well un- 
der control. The order was promptly complied with, and 
the third day the two herds were introduced to each other 



222 FOETY YEAEB OF ADVENTURES 

near the camp in a ceremonious and fitting way. They 
all appeared to enjoy the occasion as much as if they had 
been exiles and had reunited on their native soil. The 
herd was then started for the Colonel's ranch at Garden 
City, but as soon as the wild buffalo reached the limit of 
their sequestered range they sniffed the air, turned " tail 
to," and made a straight line for their familiar haunts. 
All the cowboys on earth could not have turned or checked 
their pace ; neither would they be circled off their course, 
as they would have run under the horses had they not 
moved aside and let them pass. Had there been any ma- 
terial in that region with which to build corrals and fence 
pastures, there would have been no trouble in saving this, 
the last little band of American bison on the great south- 
ern plains of North America. 

When Mr. Howard made his report, among other things 
he said : 

"We started the l)uffaloes, and followed them contin- 
ually day and night for forty-two days, changing horses 
about twenty times. The buffalo became very thin and 
footsore, and seemed so lame they could scarcely walk, 
yet would not allow us to approach nearer than two hun- 
dred feet, when they would start off and run with as much 
alacrity as though nothing was the matter with them. 
Often we could trail them for miles by the blood left in 
their tracks." 

Colonel Jones further says : 

" I determined to single out, lasso and hobble them, as 
we had done with the cow previously (although it had 
died of a 'broken heart'). We finally succeeded in ac- 
complishing this, employing the same tactics as before, 
Mr. Howard was always depended upon to mjjike the first 
catch ; he seldom miscalculated, and nearly always caught 
with the first attempt. We captured all except four, but 
one-half died within twenty-four hours after being hob- 
bled. They usually took fits, stiffened themselves, then 



EECORDED IN HISTORY 228 

dropped dead, apparently preferring death to captivity. 
It appeared to me they had the power to abstain from 
breathing. 

"We worried along with the remainder, Init they 
eventually died before arriving at my ranch in Kansas. 
We were fortunate enough to bring seven calves safely 
in, all of which lived, and helped to materially swell the 
herd." 

The great historian, T. C. Hornaday, Superintendent of 
the Taxidermical 'Department of the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution, in the year 1887 was commissioned by the U. S. 
Government to capture, alive, a lot of buffalo calves for 
the purpose of perpetuating the species in the National 
Park at Washington, D. C. He made a trip to Montana, 
but failed to save a single specimen ; and thus came to 
realize how difficult an undertaking was the captui-e of 
the buff'alo. In his report to the second session of the 
Fiftieth Congress, among other things he said: 

"Mr. Jones's original herd of fifty-seven Ijuffaloes con- 
stitutes a living testimonial of his individual enterprise, 
courage, endurance and skill in the chase. The majority 
of the individuals comprising the herd, he himself ran 
down, lassoed and tied with his own hands. It was the 
greatest feat ever accomplished. 

" For five consecutive years. Colonel Jones made an an- 
nual trip to the uninhaljited and desolate ' Panhandle' of 
Texas, to secure Iniftalo calves out of the small herd of 
one or two hundred head, which represented the last rem- 
nant of the vast numl)er of l)uffalo that formerly roamed 
in the extensive region south of the Canadian. Each of 
these expeditions involved an expenditure of money, and 
an elaborate 'outfit' of men, means of transportation, 
camp equipage, and other paraphernalia necessary to the 
successful result of the perilous undertaking. 

"Perhaps the most expensive and critical adjunct to 
the appointments was the herd of from a dozen to forty 



224 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

fresh milk cows, which had to be taken along for the sup- 
port of the captured calves. Without such natural nour- 
ishment they would have died of starvation. 

' ' The country so often visited by Colonel Jones was 
sterile, barren, desolate, and almost devoid of water. It 
may well be imagined, therefore, that to enter its desert- 
like area was a task that the majority of men would nat- 
urally shrink from, attended as it was with a constant 
struggle against the hardships incident to such a wilder- 
ness. The few buffalo remaining were exceedingly wary^ 
and difficult was the labor of finding them. The ground 
of the region, however, was admirably adapted for run- 
ning them, consisting chiefly of level prairie, giving the 
horses employed by the hunter an advantage, and he ex- 
perienced no trouble in overtaking a herd whenever it was 
sighted, or in being able to ' cut out ' and lasso the little 
animals he had come so far to capture. 

"The skill and daring displayed in the several expe- 
ditions by Colonel Jones and his confreres excites the 
wonder and admiration of the reader, and far exceeds 
anything that has ever before been experienced in hunt- 
ing wild game for the purpose of capturing it alive. Some 
of the results of Colonel Jones's expeditions seem incredi- 
ble. During the month of May, 1889, he with his party 
not only captured seven calves, but also eleven full-grown 
cows, of which latter, many were lassoed while rushing in 
their maddened speed over the prairie, then thrown and 
hobbled, and all in a shorter space of time than it re- 
quires to tell it. Others were actually 'rounded up,' 
herded, and held in control until a bunch of tame buffalo 
was driven out to meet them, thus making it possible to 
get them all to the ranch. This was a remarkably bril- 
liant feat, and can be properly appreciated only by those 
who have themselves endeavored to capture the buffalo, 
and know by experience how difficult the task, to say 
nothing of the extreme danger in an undertaking of this 
character. T. C. Hornaday." 



CHAPTER XIV 

BUFFALO ON THE WATER 

BOUND FOR THE OLD WORLD — LOADING BUFFALO ON A VES- 
SEL — BIG SHOW WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE — ANIMALS SEA- 
SICK IN A STORM — CAUSE A SENSATION IN LIVERPOOL 

INVITATION TO VISIT HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE 
OF WALES — HE ACCEPTS A ROBE, MADE OF BUFFALO FUR, 
FROM COLONEL JONES. 

[ Extracts from Colonel Jones's Journal, 1891.] 

AT McCook, Nebraska, September 28th, 1891, as the 
sun poured down its fiercest rays, I was busily 
^ engaged in pitching a load of hay into the mow of 
a barn. I paused to wipe the perspiration from 
my face. Just then a small boy looked up at me and 
said, "Is your name Jones?" "Unfortunately, it is," 
was my reply. I lowered my fork and he stuck an en- 
velope on the tines, which I raised up and opened. It was 
a cablegram, and read as follows : 

" Liverpool, England, September 28, 1891. — C. J. Jones, McCook, 
Nebraska: Proposition accepted. Ship at once. Letter, N. Y., 
care Ounard line. Webster." 

The proposition referred to was one I had made two 
weeks previously to A. M. Webster, manager for C. J. 
Leland, a wealthy English nobleman, offering to deliver 
at Liverpool ten full-grown buffaloes, for a certain con- 
sideration. The news was joyful, as the price was a 
fabulous one. 

— 15 (225) 



226 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Mr. Wayne Boor was in the mow lugging the hay back, 
and was nearly smothered. I called him to the window 
and asked him how he would like a trip to England. He 
looked dumbfounded, and stared at me fully a minute 
without speaking, and then not until I had explained 
more fully. I told him as he had been with me five long 
years, had been so faithful, and needed a rest, I would 
give him a tour of the Old World free. " It is more than 
I ever dreamed of," was his response. He could not pitch 
any more hay, but acted like a small boy who had never 
been anywhere, just before going to his first circus. The 
next day we took a coil of rope to the corral. I saddled 
"Jubar," my faithful horse, which had never failed me 
in time of need. Mr. Boor was mounted on a good 
steed, and with a cowboy, Frank Smith, we commenced 
the lassoing and corraling of the ten buffaloes. They 
were fat and rollicky, but by dfesperate riding and expert 
lassoing we soon had ropes on the ten desired, and in the 
corral. I then had them and a portion of the herd photo- 
graphed; the illustration will l)e found on another page. 
The animals with ropes around their necks are the ones 
which went abroad. 

On the 19th of October, 1891, I loaded five pairs of my 
finest full-blooded bisons on Ijoard a palace stock-car, 
at McCook, Nebraska, — the animals destined for Liver- 
pool. Accompanied by Mr. F. W. Boor, I left home to 
take them over the mighty deep. Everything worked 
admirably, and at the end of a week the car was safely 
run onto the White Star Steamship Company's docks in 
New York city. Then the question was, how to get the 
shaggy beasts on board that great monarch of the seas, 
the " Runic." Gangways without sideboards at least six 
feet high, were of no use. Finally, such a gangway was 
procured, and the buft'alo taken from the car, one by one. 
To avoid the crowd that would naturally gather upon such 
an occasion, the labor of transferring the buffalo to the 
steamship was commenced about 4 o'clock in the morn- 



BOUND FOR THE OLD WORLD 227 

iiig, while all was quiet and no loungers al)out. The glare 
of the electric lights on the dock set the l^ewildered 
beasts fairly wild with excitement, and one of the best 
" shows " of the season, without much of an audience, 
was played around and among the thousands of boxes, 
cotton-bales and packages of every description, lying on 
the dock awaiting shipment. One monstrous bull had 
apparently concluded he required more music ; so he 
mounted a piano-box, and thrust one foot down through 
it. The keys he struck gave notice to all that he had got- 
ten up to "G." The next animal climbed nine points 
higher in the scale; while the last off the car broke his 
rope and ran frantically over everything that chanced to 
be in his course, for fully an hour. By that time I had 
procured a lasso, thrown it over the oljstreperous l^rute's 
neck, and he was quickly hauled up the gangway to his 
proper place. 

All were on board, and everything ready for the novel 
voyage at high noon, the 27th, at which moment the ves- 
sel steamed out into the river, and away for Sandy Hook, 
twenty-five miles distant. Arriving at this point, the 
pilot was lowered to a little skiff awaiting him, and the 
Runic again started for her proper element, the deep sea. 
The Runic was then one of the largest and fastest freight 
steamers crossing the Atlantic. 

The Runic 's cargo on this trip comprised one hundred 
thousand bushels of wheat, hundreds of bales of cotton, 
two hundred and seventy-eight head of fine l)ullocks for 
the English market, besides a great variety of other valu- 
able articles. All went smoothly the first afternoon and 
night out, but the next morning, the 28th of Octo))er, the 
wind blew a stiff gale from the north, which made most 
of the " tenderfeet" (or in this sense those unused to the 
sea) dreadfully sick, affecting even the Ijuft'alo in the same 
manner; besides, the waves had rolled over their sheds, 
causing them to shiver with cold. And as I climljed along 
the pens that moaning, to examine into the condition of 



228 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

my valuable pets, a mighty wave dashed over the vessel,, 
nearly strangling me. I finally managed to reach the an- 
imals and locate them ; found them all alive, but more 
than half their number as sick as some of the passen- 
gers in the cabin. The great beasts would lie- stupid, 
grate their teeth, and rest their noses on the deck. Their 
eyes were sunken and dim, showing the extent of their suf- 
fering; a really pitiable sight. The captain was very 
attentive and kind to the poor animals ; he ordered the 
sailors to cover their sheds with tarpaulins, to protect 
them from the spray which was continually flying over 
them with its freezing coldness. This continued for four 
days, when the storm ciTlminated in a furious gale, toss- 
ing the goodly ship about like a cork on a mill-pond. 
At times the buffalo were mid-sides in the sea, as the wa- 
ter occasionally rolled upon the deck. Yet they endured 
this better than their experience of the second day, as 
they had now recovered from their dreadful sickness, and 
were taking their food with a relish. 

On landing at Liverpool there were a half-dozen artists 
waiting to sketch the animals, and the next morning all 
the leading journals of London were decorated with pen- 
pictures of what they termed "The Buffalo King and 
some of his subjects." 

After delivering the buffaloes, Mr. Boor and I spent a 
week in London, ten days in Paris, three da^^s in Glas- 
gow, and then returned to London, where I received many 
invitations to be entertained and dined with the royalty 
and other dignitaries, among whom was Sir Walter Gil- 
bey, President of the Agricultural and Fat Stock Associa- 
tion of the British Isles. Through him I received an 
invitation from the Prince of Wales to visit his Royal 
Highness on the following Thursday. Sir Walter was 
to accompany me, but as I had already purchased my 
steamer-ticket for New York, and as urgent business was 
awaiting me there, I folded up two beautiful rugs, woven 
from the fur of the buffalo, and sent one each to Sir Wal- 




HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES. 



LETTERS OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT 229 

ter and the Prince ; also some pictures of my herd of buf- 
falo at home, together Avith letters of regret and the 
reasons why I could not comply with their requests. I 
saw Sir Walter Gilbey afterward, and he assured me it 
was useless to send the robe to the Prince of Wales, as it 
would be against all precedent for him to accept a pres- 
ent from anyone outside the royal family. A few weeks 
after reaching home, however, I received the following 

letters : [Letter from Sir Walter Gilbey.] 

Elsenham Hall, 
Essex, 1st January, 1892. 
C. J. Jones, Esq. — My Dear Sir: I have heard from Sir Dighton 
Probyn that the Prince of AVales accepts, with pleasure, the beau- 
tiful buffalo robe which you left in my charge, to offer to his Royal 
Highness. You will, I have no doubt, in due course receive a 
proper acknowledgment of the same. 

The elegant robe which you so kindly presented to me has 
proved most useful. After three severe attacks of influenza, cold 
weather affects me, and the warmth of your kind present, during 
the past month, lias added greatly to my comfort. 

Accept my sincere wish that you inay have health and happi- 
ness this New Year. Yours very truly, 

(Signed) Walter Gilbey. 

[Letter from his Koyal Highness the Prince of Wales.] 

Sandrin'gham, 
Norfolk, 30th Dec. '91. 
My Dear Sir: I am directed by the Prince of Wales to thank 
you for your letter of the 8th instant, forwarded through Sir Wal- 
ter Gilbey, and for the handsome rug which you sent for his Royal 
Highness's acceptance, and which the Prince accepts with much 
pleasure. 

The Prince has always taken the greatest interest in the Amer- 
ican buffalo, and agrees with you in regretting the wantonness of 
the slayers of such a noble race. 

His Royal Highness wishes you every success in the efforts you 
are making to reproduce this almost extinct race of animals. 

I am also desired to thank you for the photograph which you 
have sent to his Royal Highness. 

I remain, my dear sir, 

Truly yours, 

(Signed) D. M. Probyn, 
General Comptroller and Treasurer. 



CHAPTER XV 

LAST OF THE BUFFALO 

LIKE PEOPLE, THEY BELONG TO MANY DISTINCT FAMILIES — 
THEY ORGANIZE LIKE AN ARMY — HOW THE HERD WAS 
LOCATED — BUFFALO STAMPEDE EQUALED A CYCLONE — THE 
CAUSE AND RESULTS — A MOST GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION,. 
BY ONE WHO KNOWS — ONLY METHOD OF ESCAPE — CAN- 
ADA'S LAST HERD CAPTURED BY COLONEL JONES — ATTEN- 
TION TURNED TO CAPTURING MOOSE — SUCCESSFUL HUNT IN 

MANITOBA. CATALO — PROGRESS IN CROSS-BREEDING — 

DESCRIPTION AND HABITS OF THE NEW RACE OF CATTLE — 

THRIVE WITHOUT ARTIFICIAL FOOD OR SHELTER HARDY 

AND FERTILE — ROBES AS HANDSOME AS BEAVER-SKINS. 

A GREAT herd of buffalo on the Plains in the early 
days, when one could approach near enough with- 
out disturbing it, to quietly watch its organiza- 
tion and the discipline which its leaders appeared 
to exact, was one of the most interesting objects ever wit- 
nessed. One of the striking features of the spectacle was 
the apparently uniform manner in which the immense 
mass of shaggy animals moved. There was a constancy 
of action indicating a degree of intelligence to be found 
only in the most brainy of the brute creation. 

In the event of a "stampede," every animal of the 
separate yet consolidated herds rushed away together, as 
if they had turned mad at once ; for the buffalo, like the 
Texas steer or wild horse, stampeded on the slightest 
provocation — frequently without any assignable cause. 

(230) 



ORGANIZED LIKE AN ARMY 231 

Like an army, a herd of buffalo always put out its 
vedettes to give warning in case anything beyond the ordi- 
nary happened. The sentinels were always to be seen in 
groups of four, five, or ten, sometimes even twenty miles 
distant from the main body. They were invariably old 
bulls that had been whipped out. When they were ap- 
prised that something was approaching that the herd 
should get away from, they ran directly to the center of 
the great mass of their peacefully grazing congeners. ( A 
good hunter always knew where the main herd was by 
the direction in which the guards ran.) Meanwhile, 
the young bulls, also on duty as sentinels on the edge of 
the main herd, watching the vedettes, the moment the lat- 
ter moved on a lope for the center, raised their heads, and 
in the peculiar manner of their species gazed all around 
and sniffed the air as if they could smell the source of 
impending danger. Should there be something which 
their instinct told them to guard against, the leader took 
his position in the rear to guard danger's point, the cows 
surged in the opposite direction and the calves crowded to 
the center, while the rest of the males gathered on the 
flanks, indicating a gallantry to the fair sex which might 
be emulated at times by the genus homo. 

The reader will find the following extracts from Colo- 
nel Jones's journal of intense interest. Here is his graphic 
description of a " stampede " : 

"During the third of a lifetime spent on the Great 
Plains of the interior of the continent, I have witnessed 
many stampedes of buffalo, wild horses, and Texas cattle. 
Twenty-five years ago a stampede of buffalo (which then 
roamed in vast herds, numbering millions) was an every- 
day affair; now, such an occurrence is impossible. What 
caused the huge, shaggy monsters, accustomed to the tor- 
nado, the vivid lightning, the terrible hail that frequently 
accompanies the sudden, short storms of the prairies, the 
wolves, and the thousand-and-one strange phenomena of 
nature, to stampede at apparently nothing, is one of those 



232 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

j^roblems that will admit of no solution. Sometimes it 
was a flash of lightning from a dark cloud; again, a cry 
of a starved wolf ; the appearance on the horizon of a sin- 
gle figure ; a meteor ; or perhaps something as insignifi- 
cant as the barking of a prairie-dog, sitting on the edge of 
its iDiirrow. If a single animal snorted and started to run, 
if only a rod, all others near it would start in an opposite 
direction from it, and thus others were frightened until all 
were a surging mass. A herd once started, I have seen the 
whole prairie for miles aljsolutely 1)lack with the fleeing 
beasts. There was nothing so indescribably grand, yet so 
awful in its results ; the earth, shaken b}^ the heavy tramp 
of their hoofs upon the hard ground, fairly reverberated as 
they passed a given point. Woe to him, her, them or it 
that stood in the way of the mighty throng of infuriated, 
maddened animals ! Nothing but annihilation, absolute 
and complete, their portion. 

"A buffalo stampede, indeed! How few there are to- 
day who have ever passed through this thrilling experi- 
ence ; this moment when the heart fluttered at the roots 
of the tongue ; when the pursuer, revolver or gun in hand, 
the spurs rolling on the sides of his frightened steed, en- 
deavored to force him nearer to the most horrid of all 
beasts to the eye of a horse. Still on and on, like a 
cyclone in its fury went the great mass, the living cata- 
ract, plunging up as well as down the hills and over the 
plains, tearing and cutting every vestige of vegetation ; 
and woe unto any and all living creatures that chanced to 
be in its pathway ! 

"Often have I heard the heavy rumble as if a terrific 
peal of thunder were reverberating in the distance. I 
-could see a great cloud without water. I could feel my 
blood run cold and my hair stand on end, as I knew that 
the sound was not thunder, but the roar of the beating 
hoofs of a living avalanche. I knew the cloud which was 
approaching nearer and nearer was not rain, but dust and 
dirt thrown high in the air by the nimble feet of the 



A BUFFALO STAMPEDE 233 

countless host of buffalo. To flee from their wrath would 
have been the height of folly. All that could be done 
was, if possible, to find a high bank which they could not 
ascend, and station myself on the highest cliff and rest 
content until the herd had passed by. If no such retreat 
was near, then I must rely on my trusty rifle, which w^as 
always with me, both day and night. To be sure, I did 
not depend on shooting them to lessen their number, but 
to divide the herd and turn their course. This was done 
by elevating the weapon over the herd just enough to miss 
their great humps that rolled on toward me like millions 
of iron hoops, bounding in the air at every little obstacle 
encountered. Then, when they were within fifty yards,, 
the trigger was touched and the ball whistled furiously 
over their heads. The buffalo, with one great impulse of 
dodging the missile, swerved to the right or to the left, 
owing to which side of them the bullet had passed. Then 
a great rent or split would open out, and the moving mass 
would pass by on either side. With wonderful instinct, 
those coming up in the rear would follow the footprints 
of their leaders, and the great rent in the herd would re- 
main open for hours at a time, for a quarter of a mile 
both in front and behind, when they would gradually 
come together in the rear of where I stood, and thunder 
along in their mad career. It is true that one animal 
alone could not have made any impression on the great 
phalanx; but there is unity in strength, and both were 
absolutely required in such time of peril. 

"Such sights and sensations cannot be satisfactorily 
pictured to the millions of people now living and those 
unborn. I regret exceedingly that the kodak was not a 
more ancient contrivance, so that a true representation 
could have been taken from life and handed down to 
those who will now only be permitted to read pen-pictures 
of the days which will never more return." 



234 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTUEES 

As soon as the stampede ended, the single herd was 
broken up into many smaller ones that traveled rela- 
tively close together, but led by an independent guide. 
Perhaps only a few rods marked the dividing-line be- 
tween them, but it was always unmistakably plain, and 
each moved synchronously in the direction in which all 
were going. 

This distinction of groups unquestionably represented 
different families of the buffalo race. Colonel Jones posi- 
tively asserts that there is no doubt of this fact. He 
says : 

" Each small group is of the same strain of blood. 
There is no animal in the world more clannish than the 
buffalo. The male calf follows the mother until two 
years old, when he is driven out of the herd, and the 
parental tie is then entirely broken. The female calf 
fares better, as she is permitted to stay with her 
mother's family for life, unless by some accident she 
becomes separated from the group. 

" The resemblance of each individual of a family is very 
striking, while the difference between families is as ap- 
parent to the practiced eye as is the Caucasian from the 
Mongolian race of people. 

" These groups are as quickly separated from the great 
herd after a stampede, as is a company of soldiers from 
its regiment at the close of 'dress parade.' The several 
animals know each other by scent and sound ; they grunt 
similarly to a hog, but in a much stronger tone, and are 
quickly recognized by every member of the family. When 
separated by a stampede or other cause, they never rest 
until they are all together again. 

"A pathetic sight was sometimes witnessed when the 
mother of one of these families was killed at the first 
shot. They were so devoted to her they would linger, and 
wait until the last one could be easily slain. Often have 
I so crippled a calf that it was impossible for it to follow 




REPRESENTING THE AGES OF BUFFALO. 




METHOD OF SKINNING BUFFALO. 



INTELLIGENCE OF BUFFALO 235 

the herd, and its pitiful bleating would hold the family 
until I could kill all desired. Should the calf be wounded 
in the fore or hind parts, the old cows would actually 
support the parts so crippled, and it would walk away on 
the normal parts by such aid. Sometimes when I now 
lasso a calf of those in domestication, and attempt to 
lead it away, the mother will quickly place herself in 
front of her baby and thrust a horn under and often 
through the loop of the rope, and hold the horse and rider 
perfectly solid ; while if the rope is slackened, she in some 
instances will free the calf entirely. Such intelligence 
appears almost human. Often while hunting these ani- 
mals as a business, I fully realized the cruelty of slaying 
the poor creatures. Many times did I 'swear off,' and 
fully determine I would break my gun over a wagon- 
wheel when I arrived at camp ; yet always hesitated to do 
so after several hours had elapsed. The next morning I 
would hear the guns of other hunters booming in all 
directions, and would make up my mind that even if I 
did not kill any more, the buffalo would soon all 1)e slain 
just the same. Again I would shoulder my rifle, to re- 
peat the previous day's experience. I am positive it was 
the wickedness committed in killing so many, that im- 
pelled me to take measures for perpetuating the race 
which I had helped to almost destroy. 

" The mastership of a herd was attained only by hard, 
fearful struggles for the place. Once reached, however, 
the victor was immediately recognized, and kept his 
authority until some new aspirant overcame him, or he 
became superannuated and was driven out of the herd to 
meet his inevitable fate — a prey to those ghouls of the 
desert, the gray wolves. 

"The natural life of the buffalo is much longer than is 
that of domestic cattle. I frequently saw animals so old 
their horns had decayed and dropped off, which indicated 
that they live to a patriarchal age. I saw a buffalo cow 



236 FORTY YEAR8 OF ADVENTURES 

in the zoological garden in Paris which was thirty-one 
years old, and am sure I have seen wild ones from ten to 
fifteen years older." 

From the Chicago Times, dated at the time when Colo- 
nel Jones purchased the famous "Stony Mountain" herd 
of bison, which made such a stir, I extract some facts 
connected with the shipment of the animals and their 
stampede, which is germane to this chapter : 

"La Tauche Norbert, of Regina, the government seat 
for the northwest territories of Canada, is in the city, en 
route to the eastern provinces. Last evening he enter- 
tained the loungers in a corridor of the Palmer House 
rotunda with stories of that northern region ; l^ut what 
held his listeners best was his account of a shipment of 
buffalo from Stony Mountain, Manitoba, to Garden City, 
Kansas. He said: A few months ago, C. J. Jones, a 
prominent ranchman of Kansas, paid a visit to Major 
Sam Bedson, warden of the penitentiary, to whom he 
made an offer of cash for the magnificent herd of buffalo 
belonging to him. The price offered, twenty thousand 
dollars, was not fancy enough for the gentleman who 
worked the corner on the last remnant of an almost ex- 
tinct animal. More money was demanded, and for a few 
weeks negotiations for a transfer stood still. Meantime, 
Major Bedson notified the Dominion Government that 
such an offer had been made, and asked what inducement 
would be made to prevent the herd's removal to the 
United States. 

" It is understood that the Dominion Government made 
a bid, but the recent transfer shows Colonel Jones on top, 
at a cost of about twenty-five thousand dollars, A week 
ago Saturday the first consignment from the famous herd 
was loaded at Winnipeg, on the cars of the St. Paul, 
Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad, and they are now en 
route to the Kansas ranch, 



LOADING THE MANITOBA HERD 237 

"Among those who witnessed the h)ading of the ani- 
mals were several ' old-timers ' in the Northwest, who ten 
years ago thought nothing of a sight of great herds of buf- 
falo in a stampede across the country, and there was a 
feeling of sadness at parting with the shaggy monsters; 
and well there might l)e, for specimens on the far North- 
western plains are now as scarce as hen's molars. 

" The distance from Stony Mountain to Winnipeg is 
about twelve miles, and wlien thirty-three of tlie ninety- 
five had been separated for shipment, they were driven 
across the open prairie to the Winnipeg stock-yards. 
Three or four naughty old bulls, when half-way on their 
journey, sniffed the air, saw trouble, and with a sudden 
' right about' threw down their heads, and with their tails 
high in the air took the crow-line for their old quarters. 
Horsemen armed with heavy cowboy whips and steel 
prongs charged after the truants, but the animals, their 
ancient vigor having returned to them, soon reached 
home. When the others arrived at the Winnipeg yards, 
they too turned tail, but were headed oft', and soon driven 
across the railroad. Jones ordered, as soon as the herd 
was across, that a train of freight cars a mile long be 
pulled up to the end of the railroad fence, and there))y 
prevent a stampede back across the railroad. Everything 
worked exactly as the great general had planned. The 
stockyards were on the north side of the road, and how to 
get the buffalo into such a trap was apparently beyond 
human skill ; l3ut Jones is the most wonderful schemer 
ever seen in the Queen's domain, beyond question. He 
had a hasty fence built from the north side of the gate on 
the west side of the yards, in a circular fashion, and made 
it fast to the east end of a car, then ordered the coupling- 
pin pulled and the east end of the train moved to the east 
one car-length. As soon as the buffalo saw daylight be- 
tween the cars, they made a furious dash for their old 
home to the north. Jones was well mounted, and pushed 
those in the rear up into the herd. Every buffalo leaped 



238 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

clear over the track, and the circling fence guided them 
through the great gate into the stockyards. Jones then 
jumped from his mount upon the gate and gave himself a 
mighty push from the fence, and swung in front of the 
whole herd, which had reached the limits of the pen, real- 
ized the trap, and were retreating, — but too late. The 
mighty gate had closed, and Jones was standing trium- 
phant upon it, as calm and composed as if nothing unu- 
sual had occurred, while crowds of people enjoyed this 
greatest victory our people ever witnessed. 

" Then the buffalo began a stampede inside, and trouble 
commenced in dead earnest, which was as exciting to 
the spectators as a duel in the dark with knives, between 
a couple of Southern editors. When the buffalo realized 
they had been caged, they began a fight among them- 
selves, and some fierce encounters were waged between 
the old fellows. They tossed the younger ones skyward 
on their horns, and gored them as they came down. A 
dog that had been used to the now maddened brutes got 
in among them, and in less time than it takes to tell it 
the unfortunate canine was reduced to a grease-spot and 
flying particles of hair. The fight lasted for nearly an 
hour; so the idea of getting the buffalo to march on the 
gangway was about abandoned, and would have been but 
for the action at this juncture of an infuriated bull who 
took it into his head to inaugurate a stampede. The old 
fellow had been making trouble all day, and ' waded in ' 
to eclipse all his previous efforts. Gathering all his 
strength, he got behind the rest of the herd ; then Jones 
prodded him furiously. It was then he commenced to 
make it unpleasant for his companions, bellowing at 
them, and driving his monstrous horns into their flanks. 
In this way, from pure devilment, buffalo have from time 
immemorial worked up a grand stampede. In this in- 
stance the herd were compelled to forge ahead, and, hav- 
ing no other plank to travel, had to march into the car, 
the ' limbo ' prepared for them. But when the old brute 



STARTING ON A MOOSE-HUNT 239 

who had caused all the rumpus arrived at the car-door 
and saw where his skill at stampeding had landed him, he 
tossed up his head in his characteristic way, and with a 
look of disgust wheeled around, cleared several fences 
from seven to ten feet high, and was soon observed as a 
small speck only, far down the prairie, while all attempts 
to turn him back were like endeavoring to make the Mis- 
sissippi river run up-hill. 

"When the buffalo had made good his escape, Mr. 
Jones closed the iron car-doors with a clang, and the 
world's first car-load of buffalo was soon speeding on its 
journey to their far-away home in sunny Kansas, and 
Canada lost one of her greatest opportunities, which will 
be regretted by all true subjects of her Majesty's do- 
main." 

On one of his trips in Canada, Colonel Jones heard of 
some moose whose habitat was about forty miles out of 
Emerson, in the Dominion. True to his innate love of 
hunting and preserving large game, he at once deter- 
mined to secure some of these animals, none of which he 
had ever seen alive. His first and the principal idea 
which controlled him was, if possible, to get one or two 
young ones, and add them to the stock of wild ruminants 
on his ranch at Garden City. 

He started on the chase ( or rather, hunt ) in his usual 
methodical way ; for, as previously observed, he is a very 
practical man, and never does a thing without giving the 
subject his serious thought. Then if he determines a 
thing can be accomplished, he never lags until it is con- 
summated. The story of his success in this instance 
cannot better be told than in his own description of the 
expedition : 

" My original intention was to penetrate the northern 
regions, as far as Alaska if necessary, in search of young 
moose, elk, and such other herbivorous wild animals as 
could be found. While waiting at Emerson for a train, 



240 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

I entered into conversation with a half-breed Indian 
aljout wikl animals, and much to my delight and sur- 
prise, was informed that he knew where there were two 
old moose of prodigious size, and several young ones. I at 
once investigated the responsibility of the savage, as, 
from a long experience with them on the Western Plains 
and in tlie Rocky Mountains, I was familiar with their 
love of boasting and occasional carelessness of the truth. 
I was rejoiced when my landlord assured me that the 
Indian was responsilile and perfectly reliable. Upon 
this, I immediately sought a team to convey us t<^ the 
coveted spot where the moose were said to frequent. I 
found a liveryman who informed me he had a team that 
could 'get there.' By the w^ay, I learned very soon that 
this stable-keeper was the once celebrated hurdle-rider of 
Cole's circus, and I was not long in making terms with 
him for the team. 

"My landlord (himself an old hunter) was to accom- 
pany me on the proposed trip, and in less than an hour 
after hearing of the moose we were all three in a com- 
fortable spring-wagon, bowling over the prairie at the 
rate of a mile in eight minutes, headed for the tamarack 
swamp where the moose were known to be. Our guide 
first took us to where some Indians were camped, digging 
snakeroot. We were to get one or more of the bucks to 
go with us. They were only too glad of the opportunity; 
but I had to hire the whole ' outfit.' Their astonishment 
was great when they learned a party was going for moose 
without guns, and when the guide explained my method 
of getting big game, a lonely old buck stretched himself 
back and exclaimed with a sneer, ' Squaws I ' This to me 
was a decided insult, and if I could have spoken his hor- 
rid language, would have let him know that I had killed 
more big game in my life than his whole tribe. Perhaps 
it was as well that we could not converse together, or we 
might have had a regular cowboy ' round-up ' before I had 
accomplished my mission. 



A COLD XIGHT IN JUNE 241 

"Wo were now ready to turn in for the night. The 
sun had h)ng since disapix^arod. I took out my watch, 
and to my surprise discovered it was ten minutes after 
ten, althougli th(> twilight still lingered in the little val- 
ley. The red-margined clouds in the northwestern sky 
looked as if the sun had only just passed below the ho- 
rizon. At first I supposed my watch had l)een gaining 
time. Then I rememl)(M'(Hl I was nearer the northern re- 
gions, where often is seen tlie ' midnight sun.' We s[)i-ead 
our blankets and rolled in for the night. I never suffered 
so much from cold, even in January. 

"The sky soon became quite clear, and in the morning 
(June 2Gth) the grt)und was covered with frost. I routed 
the Indians out at break of day, which came about half- 
past two o'clock, and we partook of a lunch, with a cup 
of strong coifee to wash it down. 

'' Our early meal disposed of, we started for a grove of 
po})lars a]3out a mile distant from camp, where it was re- 
ported the moose had last )jeen seen. Arriving at the 
grove, two of us reuuiined outside the clumj) of timber to 
watch if any thing ran out, while six Indians and the 
guide went into it to search for the moose. They had 
been gone, it seemed to me, long enough to have traveled 
over the whole area, with an hour to spare, when suddenly 
I heard a tremendous rattling and snapping of sticks and 
brush. At the same instant I saw, above a quaking-ash, 
a huge head, which I immediately made up my mind was 
nothing less than a grizzly bear. There I was, without 
even a revolver, and the worst of all wild animals coming 
directly toward me. What could I do but stand and 
' face the music ' ? By the time I grasped the dreadful 
situation, if my conjectures were true, I saw very plainly 
that what confronted me wjis not a bear, but an immense 
female moose I Her long legs looked to me like fence- 
posts. She passed only a few yards away, making a ' bee 
line ' for a tamarack grove, half a mile distant. 

" Now for the fun I A sharp watch was kept up, hoping 
— 16 



242 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

to see a calf following; but no calf appeared. In a few 
moments I saw the head of our guide emerge from the 
brush, and to my unbounded delight he held in his arms 
something that looked like a young colt. Great heavens ! 
What is it? A moose, indeed? Who ever dreamed of 
such a looking creature ? Legs like handspikes four feet 
long; head almost like a bear, with a neck only six inches 
in length ; body like a young calf, except it had a well- 
defined hump on its shoulder. When standing it was as 
large as a young Norman colt ; really stood higher, 
though its body was not quite as heavy. It was the 
greatest curiosity I had ever seen, and I felt very proud 
of its acquisition to my collection of wild beasts, — par- 
ticularly so because the moose is, like the buffalo, nearly 
extinct. It is now a magnificent animal, as large as an 
average carriage-horse. 

"The guide had routed two calves: one escaped in the 
underbrush, while the one he captured endeavored to as- 
cend a steep bank and fell back into the arms of the 
guide. We spent the day looking for the missing animal, 
but to no purpose. 

"When I shipped the buffalo from Canada, I took the 
moose to my ranch at Garden City, and as my time was 
occupied looking after the buffalo, I finally sold it to the 
owners of a park at Hutchinson, Kansas, where it ap- 
peared to thrive in that sunny clime. When the Mani- 
toba herd was added to the buffalo I had before captured, 
they numbered one hundred and thirty-five, a portion of 
which I took to Salt Lake City, where I disposed of them. 
Those at Garden City I experimented with for several 
years. 

" I turned my attention to carrying out my original 
idea of producing a race of animals, by engrafting the 
buffalo upon our domestic cattle. 

"As to the new variety of animals so produced, I should 
not close without saying something in particular as to this 
discovery. 




CATALO COW, THREE-QUARTERS BUFFALO. 



DESCRIPTION AND HABIT8 OF CATALO 



243 



'' I have been very diligent during the past five years in 
endeavoring to produce a race of cattle ecjual in hardiness 
to the buffalo, with robes much finer, and possessing all 
the advantages of the l^est bred cattle. To say that 1 
have succeeded, without furnishing the proof, would 
merely cause derision ; so I have photographed a numl^er 
of these wonderful animals, which will give a slight idea 
of what has been accomplished. The reader may have 
further and ocular demonstration Ijy seeing for himself. 

"To these cross-breeds I have given the name, ' Cat- 
alo,' from the first syllable of cdttlc and the last three 
letters of buffalo (cat-alo) ; thus forming a suggestive no- 
menclature for the new animals. 




CATALO COW. 
Seven years old. Weight, 1620 pounds. 



" Catalo are pr(^duced l)y crossing the male buffalo with 
the domestic cow. Yet the best and surest method is the 
reverse of this. Only the first cross is difficult to secure ; 
after that, they are unlike the mule, for they are as fer- 



244 FORTY YEAES OF ADVENTURES 

tile as either the cattle or buffalo. They breed readily 
with either strain of the parent race — the females espe- 
cially. It is very difficult to secure a male catalo. I have 
never been able to raise but one half-breed bull, and he 
was accidentally killed before becoming serviceable. 

"The half-breeds are much larger than their progeni- 
tors of either side; the cows weighing from twelve to 
fifteen hundred pounds. Major Bedson, of Manitoba, 
succeeded in raising a male half-breed, but unfortu- 
nately made a steer of him when young. At five years 
old he was butchered, and dressed twelve hundred and 
eighty pounds — equivalent to a live weight of twenty- 
four hundred and eighty pounds. 

" The quarter and three-quarter buffalo are not so large 
as the half-blood ; they are about the same size as ordi- 
nary good cattle. The seven-eighths and fifteen-sixteenths 
buffalo are of the size of buffalo, and resemble them in 
shape and color. The fur of the three-quarter and seven- 
eighths buffalo makes the finest robes. This fur is per- 
fectly compact, and when bred from the black strain of 
cattle, is as handsome as that of the black beaver. Some 
of the half-bloods are excellent milkers, yielding a fair 
quantity of milk, which is as rich as that of the Jersey. 
The nearer they approach the full-blood buffalo, the less 
quantity is produced ; but the milk is correspondingly 
richer, as the milk of the full-blooded buffalo cow is 
richer than the Jersey's. 

"The catalo are quiet animals, so long as you keep 
hands off. They are good feeders, have excellent appe- 
tites, and are invariably in excellent flesh, though fed on 
any kind of provender. I have successfully wintered 
them on the 'range,' without any artificial food or shel- 
ter, as far north as Lake Winnipeg. They withstood the 
cold when the mercury reached fifty degrees below zero, 
without artificial food or shelter. 

"I have succeeded in crossing with almost all the dif- 
ferent breeds of cattle, but the Galloway is unquestion- 



TRAITS OF THE CATALO 245 

ably the safest, most satisfactory, and produces the finest 
and best robes. 

" The catalo inlierit more of tlie traits of the buffalo 
than of the domestic cattle. They face the blizzards, and 
when the first of the unwelcome storms appears in early 
winter, the domestic cow and her calf Ind adieu to each 
other, — the cow drifting with the storm, while the calf 
faces the blizzard and remains with the buffalo herd. 

"There is one peculiar thing about the catalo: they 
all have 'solid' colors; i. e., they are either black, seal 
brown, brindle, or white. I never saw or heard of a 
spotted catalo. 

" They are somewhat inclined to be cross, and when the 
cows have young calves at their sides are exceptionally so. 

"After all my experiments in cross-breeding, I feel con- 
fident it can be made successful, if the right class of cows 
is secured and they receive the proper treatment, with- 
out which none can hope for success. I did not only 
make a failure, but two or three of them ; yet by persist- 
ent efforts, succeeded in a remarkable degree in produc- 
ing the very kind of animal my imagination dwelt upon 
while in western Texas in 1886." 



CHAPTER XVI 

DOMESTICATED BUFFALO 

HABITS or DOMESTICATED BUFFALO, COMPARED WITH WILD 

PROPAGATION TAKES NERVE TO CONQUER THEM 

CORRALS OF WIRE; FENCE-RAILS NOT EFFECTIVE — BUF- 
FALO KILLS HIS CAPTOR — " JOHN L. SULLIVAN," WHICH 
NEVER MET A "CORBETT'' BREAKING BUFFALO TO HAR- 
NESS NO boy's play COMPELLED TO HOLD THE LINES 

WITH A WINDLASS CONGRESS HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR 

EXTINCTION OF BUFFALO — COLONEL JONEs's OFFER TO 

CORRAL A HERD GOVERNMENT PROPERLY WARNED OF 

THE DANGER, BUT IGNORED IT — THE NUMBER THAT EX- 
ISTED AT DIFFERENT PERIODS UNWRITTEN CODES OF 

HUNTERS — WHY THE TRAILS ARE CROOKED — HOW COLO- 
NEL JONES KILLED A WHOLE HERD. 

UNDER domestication the buffalo loses but few of 
its normal characteristics. The greatest change 
appears to be in a diminution of its power of 
scent, which serves it so admirably in its wild 
state, and in an increase of the power of vision. In their 
natural condition the eye is rarely depended upon to lo- 
cate the whereabouts of an enemy, while their sense of 
smell is so wonderfully developed that neither animal nor 
man can pass them on the windward side within two miles 
without being immediately discovered; indeed, often a 
herd has been stampeded by the scent from a single 
hunter even four miles away. 

Under domestication much of this keen instinct ap- 

( 246 ) 



buffalo's natuee changed by environment 247 

pears to be eliminated from their nature ; this in con- 
sequence of a change in their environment, which, as 
scientists have proved, completely metamorphoses the 
character of man, after even only one or two generations; 
and this applies equally to the brute creation, so far as 
observation extends. Now, by the radical change in their 
surroundings, the buffalo absolutely fail to recognize any- 
thing by scent, depending entirely on sight or sound — a 
complete reversion in this particular from their normal 
etate of freedom. Colonel Jones affirms that "under 
certain conditions they sometimes, in their domesticated 
environment, sceijt water, especially when ravenously 
thirsty and when Init a short distance away, while in 
their wild state I have known them to scent it when it 
was miles distant." 

He says further: "While wild, it is an impossibility to 
turn a herd from its general course ; under domestication, 
however, the Ijuffalo yields as readily to the cowboy's will 
in this particular as do our native cattle. Yet they will 
never allow themselves to be driven into a close corral, 
barn, or any other inclosure without a domestic cow in 
the lead, or they are ' tolled ' in by some seductive food 
or salt. A corral made of wire only has no terrors for 
them, as in such an enclosure they are able to see in all 
directions. They are strong feeders, taking kindly to 
corn and all other grain, as well as to root crops; their 
appetites never failing until their capacity has reached 
its limit. 

"They propagate as readily as do the domestic cattle, 
when they have large inclosures and are not disturbed 
too much. In close confinement they are not at all pro- 
lific. When they do breed under such circumstances, the 
offspring is almost invariably a male ; consequently the 
race would shortly become extinct, unless great care were 
exercised, as nature revolts at such an innovation. 

"When I first seriously talked of domesticating the 
buffalo, I was severely ridiculed by people who had had 



248 FOETY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

Bome acquaintance with the few which had been tamed. 
They, were loud in their protestations ; declared it was aa 
impossibility ; success could never follow the experiment, 
as no fence except a high stone wall would hold them ; 
there had been boards innumerable smashed, and the old- 
fashioned rail fence scattered in all directions by the 
vicious animals, which delight in balancing the rails on 
their horns, and then tossing them high in the air, run- 
ning from under and kicking up their heels at every jump. 
That after their escape from confinement they would raid 
the neighboring farms, doing immense damage, until 
finally some enraged individual would shoot them to rid 
himself of the trouble they caused. 

' ' I tried many styles of fence when first engaging in the 
undertaking, and of course experienced many of the 
difficulties pointed out; but when I stretched five or six 
barbed wires to fair-sized posts a rod apart, with a stay 
between, I had no further difficulty in restraining them. 
I kept from fifty to a hundred buffaloes on a section of 
land (six hundred and forty acres) for more than a year 
at a time without a single one going through the wires. 
Even one acre fenced as above will prevent a hundred 
buffaloes from escaping, as effectually as could be desired. 

"The cows are very cautious when an attempt is made 
to corral them, particularly if they have calves by their 
side, as they seem to fear their little ones will be trapped. 
The cows always mingle with the males until the calves 
are about five months old — from May 1st to October; 
after that time they separate, the calves, yearlings and 
two-year-olds remaining with the cows, while the males 
over two years old isolate themselves. The reason for 
this is easily explained ; there is a motive in it. The 
males are very important factors in defending the calves 
from the' wolves, which were the greatest enemy the buf- 
falo in their wild state had to contend with. The sepa- 
ration does not occur until the calves are strong enough 
to take care of themselves. The bulls are very rough with 



SUBDUED AVITH DIFFICULTY 249 

their horns, and the cows keep beyond their reach, espe- 
cially while carrying their young. The calves are all 
dropped in April or May. 

" The buffalo very naturally dislike a horse, and during 
the summer months it is a difficult task to drive the Inills 
with that animal, as they seem to take a special delight 
in showing how they can run him over the prairie at their 
own sweet will, often when the rider is doing all he can to 
prevent it. He may use his whip vigorously, and even 
give the cowboy yell, but it has little effect, unless he has 
the nerve to dismount and walk out to meet the enraged 
animal, — not at all times advisable; though I had one 
man in my employ who would persist in so doing, and he 
always came out victorious. I discharged him for his cour- 
age, and he no doubt lived much longer in consequence of 
my action. 

"I am firmly of the opinion that there are very few 
buffalo, excepting the master of the herd, that cannot l)e 
subdued by man, if he only possess the nerve to face them, 
never yielding or turning his back toward them. As long 
as you confront them and continue to advance, they in- 
variably surrender just before the apparently supreme 
moment arrives. If you turn your back, even for an in- 
stant, they will rush at you with all their natural vigor 
and rage, and unless there is a fence or other good place 
of refuge near, you are gone. A man should never turn 
under any circumstance, Init back off, whether he be on 
horseback or on foot, until he is out of danger of the fero- 
cious beast's horns. The bull, fortunately, always gives 
warning that he is going to charge, l)y lying down and 
rolling in the dust, or by tearing up the earth with his 
formidable horns, pawing up the turf with his feet, and 
roaring, or puffing, — something in its sound like a loco- 
motive ascending a steep grade with a heavy load. An- 
other premonitory sign is that the enraged ])ull always 
holds his tail high in the air before the impending charge. 
"I know of only one instance where a man was hurt l^y 



250 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

a domesticated buffalo. This was in the case of Mr. A. 
H. Cole, of Oxford, Ne))raska. An old buffalo wanted to 
go out in the road to fight a domestic animal which had 
just sounded the challenge, roaring furiously and pawing 
up the earth in his rage. The buffalo bull in front of 
which Mr. Cole stood was six years of age. His keeper 
attempted to turn the buffalo back, but the pugnacious 
animal objected; upon which Mr. Cole, becoming dis- 
gusted, wheeled suddenly around and started for a pitch- 
fork which stood a few rods from him, when the bull, 
imagining he had bluffed Mr. Cole, made a furious dash 
at him and drove one of his sharp horns into the unfor- 
tunate man.'s back, from the effect of which he died in 
about ten days. Had the man retreated backward, keep- 
ing his face toward the animal, there would not have been 
the slightest danger; the bull would never have made an 
attempt to charge him. What is true of the buffalo in 
this respect, is also true of all animals. A person should 
not lose presence of mind if ever caught in such a predic- 
ament, and never forget to face the beast, unless certain 
he can make good his escape. 

"I have had but one buffalo in my herd that was in- 
clined to be dangerously pugnacious — 'John L. Sullivan.' 
He is master of all others. He is a perfect dictator, rul- 
ing his congeners as absolutely as was ever a subject by 
imperious monarch. Should any one of the growing 
bulls, however, some day muster up courage to attack and 
conquer him, all the males in the herd will join in chas- 
ing him for many days, until he will not dare show him- 
self again. Were he in a wild state, the wolves alone 
would cordially welcome him, only to hamstring and de- 
vour him as a reward for his ' cussedness ' while in power. 
'.SVc temper tyrannis.'' 

"Ever since the hour man was given 'dominion over 
the beasts of the field,' it has been one of the chief 
objects of his ambition to subject the various animals to 
his will, for the purpose of compelling them to share 




JOHN L. SULLIVAN.' 



TRAINING THE BUFFALO 251 

the burden of labor imposed upon him by the fiat of na- 
ture. From the diminutive shepherd dog, which has been 
trained to take care of the flocks, and thus relieve his 
master from much of the incessant worry incident to 
their keeping, to the ponderous elephant capal^le of car- 
rying tons of weight, man's prowess in subordinating 
these creatures to his demands is proof of his superiority 
over the brute creation. The horse, beyond all others, 
has been of the greatest service ; nor must the patient ox 
be forgotten; nor the 'ship of the desert,' the camel, 
which is entitled to its meed of praise. But of all beasts 
of burden, in considering the requirements of strength, 
vitality, endurance, and capacity, the bufl^alo is incom- 
parably greater than all others mentioned. To be sure, 
reared in absolute idleness, without being required to 
labor in the slightest for his support during ages of a 
long ancestry, it is natural he should be inclined to an 
obstinacy more persistent than is found in almost any 
other beast, with a manifest unmanageableness growing 
out of his freedom from all restraint in his natural state ; 
yet when forced to act, he, like all other animals, reluc- 
tantly yields to the ruling power of man. The party who 
undertakes to control a full-grown bull must be confident 
of the fact that he was given dominion over all the brute 
creation, and is aljle to exercise that power, or he will 
never successfully perform what he sets about to do. 

"I have devoted a great deal of time, patience, and 
money, to say nothing of the danger experienced, in order 
to demonstrate that the buffalo is not only a practical^le 
but tractable animal, when he has been carefully trained. 
I have taken the little buffalo calves and yoked them to- 
gether; but the determination of their spirit of lil)erty 
immediately developed itself. At first they fought as fu- 
riously as gladiators. They would lie down, roll over, 
and put themselves into all sorts of strange positions, not 
infrequently reversing ends, each one headed in a different 
direction; they reared, plunged, kicked and 'cavorted' 



252 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

around like a circus-horse. Their kick was the very in- 
carnation of ' cussedness,' and if you attempted to hold 
one by the ear, he would double up like a wasp, and 
knock your hand away by a stroke of his hind foot. If 
you stood immediately in front of them, they would jump 
with all four feet on your body. For weeks they would 
continue in this obstinate condition, although kept yoked 
together all the time. By patience, however, and con- 
tinual efforts in handling them, they finally succumb, 
acknowledging the superiority of their master. 

"Now, as young buffalo possess such characteristics 
when an attempt is made to sulidue them to the yoke, you 
may well imagine what would be the case in an attempt 
to conquer a stubborn old bull, who possesses all the traits 
of the calves I have endeavored to describe in part, — only 
augmented ten fold, besides the faculty of buffalo in al- 
ways keeping their faces to the foe, which is their nature, 
as I have shown. 

" The buffalo bull has no more formidable enemy than 
another male of his own species, and when two are yoked 
together both are equally terrified. They cannot escape, 
and the first thing each attempts is to conquer his un- 
willing mate. Both whirl in an instant in their endeavor 
to face each other, but the yoke holds them in such a po- 
sition that it is impossible for them to effect it. The 
only result is, their heads are thrown around against their 
sides, like a horse when suffering from colic. They con- 
tinue in this awkward position for several daj^s, when they 
begin to realize that neither can harm the other ; but be- 
fore they are made to stand up straight, and refrain from 
constantly trying to meet each other in combat, weeks 
elapse. At last, after months of careful handling, and 
extreme patience on the part of their trainer, they be- 
come accustomed to their restraint, and are properly 
* broken,' exceeding in courage and strength any other 
animal subjected by man to assist in his burden of labor. 
The buffalo when thus subordinated to the will of their 



COLONEL JONES'b BUFFALO TEAM 253 

master are excellent travelers, as they walk rapidly, yet 
never trot, but change from a walk to a gallop, which 
gait they are able to keep up for miles without apparent 
fatigue, — a feat impossible with oxen. The Imffalo has 
great endurance, and cannot he run down Ijy a horse. 
His mighty shoulders and doul)le-strength loins, by virtue 
of the hump (which is composed of muscles of great 
strength), and his capacity to endure fitful climates so 
long without water and food, and his many other points 
that excel any and all other animals, all go to make up 
the greatest beast of l)urden known to mankind ; and it is 
strange that the animal was never before effectually 
brought under absolute control. Since the windlass has 
been successfully used, no doubt some day the buffalo will 
be considered a valuable animal with which to lighten the 
loads of mankind." 

The picture on a separate page represents a team of 
seven-year-old bulls, one of which is the famous "Lucky 
Knight," captured by Colonel Jones on the first day of 
May, 1886, causing him so much trouble, the story of 
which is related in a previous chapter. The other, with 
large knobs on his horns, is the animal which killed Mr. 
A. H. Cole, his owner; was afterward purchased l^y Colo- 
nel Jones, and broken to work l)y that "buffalo king" 
when the animal had attained the age of six years — a 
most remarkable victory of the power of the human will 
over that of the brute creation. 

Colonel Jones, in writing in his journal of this particu- 
lar pair, says : 

" They are gentle, and work well together, Init their 
keeper is ever warned never to give the one that has mur- 
der charged to his account, an opportunity to repeat the 
crime. This team is emploj^ed in drawing feed to the 
other animals on the ranch in winter, and in summer is 
used in plowing, with excellent results." 



254 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

They are driven with hemp rope lines, made of the best 
material, attached to heavy, forged iron JDits in their 
months, at one end, at the other to a windlass so arranged 
on the vehicle that the driver can control each line by 
winding it up, by simply turning a crank. There are two 
of these cranks. The driver holds one in each hand, and 
the brakes are adjusted l^y his feet, so that the teamster 
can draw harder with one hand and foot than four men 
could without the windlass. 

It was a happy contrivance, as every other method 
failed completely to control the strong beasts ; and now it 
has been used so long that the animals are easily driven 
by the Colonel with his hands alone, with as much pleas- 
ure as if they were a span of carriage horses, except that 
when they desire to drink, when passing a brook or other 
watering-place, the windlass must control them. They 
go fast or slow, as he desires. But without the windlass 
and brakes, they would never have been conquered. 

Only a few years ago the American bison was consid- 
ered as worthless (except for its hide) by everybody save 
the American Indians, who alone appreciated it to a 
somewhat limited extent. They subsisted almost exclu- 
sively on its flesh. In the fall, during the dry weather 
on the arid plains of the interior of the continent, where 
even the "gentle dews of heaven " refused to "fall upon 
the earth beneath," where a carcass would dry up like an 
Egyptian mummy, these children of Nature assembled 
and slaughtered great numbers of the bison. At this sea- 
son the animal was fat, and in the golden prime of condi- 
tion ; and later, in November and December, the robes 
were black and perfect. 

The tallow of the buffalo is as yellow and rich as "Jer- 
sey butter." The flesh is tender, juicy, and through the 
process of drying, served for bread ; the tallow as ])utter. 
This "bread and butter" was stored in the animal's own 
skin for winter use; while the savages, as long as the 



SOME INTERESTING STATISTICS 



255 



fine weather lasted, during their prolonged hunt, reveled 
like pigs in clover on the delicious portions of the buf- 
falo, in former years regarded by the white man as re- 
pulsive and worthless. 

It is true of nearly all peoples, that the more abundant 
an article becomes, the less it is appreciated. Never was 
apothegm more applicable than is this to the Ijuffalo. 
If anyone had taken the trouble to give but a passing 
thought to the subject, at the proper time, a great eco- 
nomic problem would have been solved — the benefits to 
be derived from domesticating and propagating the buf- 
falo, an animal for which Nature had provided the Great 
Plains, and fitted the wandering ruminant to withstand 
the vicissitudes of fitful climatic extremes. 

The accompanying table was compiled by Colonel Jones, 
and presents a very fair statement of the number of ani- 
mals roaming over the Great Plains, and the numljer 
slaughtered, outside the National Park, during the years 
specified : 



Year. 


No. of 
Buffalo. 


No. Killed 
Past Year. 


No. Killed 
for Hides. 


January 1, 1865 


15,000,000 

14,000.000 

12,4(X),000 

7,500,000 

2,5CK),000 

1,500,000 

1,000,000 

700,000 

6tKD.000 

525,000 

455.000 

395,000 

325. TOO 

245, TOO 

160,0TO 

70,0TO 

20,0TO 

5.0TO 

1.000 

5TO 


1,0TO,TO0 

1,6TO.000 

4,5TO.TO0 

4.0TO.000 

1,000,000 

5TO,000 

3TO,000 

1TO,000 

75,0TO 

70,000 

60,000 

70,000 

80,000 

85, OCX) 

90,TO0 

50.000 

15,000 

4,0TO 

500 

350 


40,000 
8TO,0TO 


January 1 1870 


January 1, 1871 

January 1. 1872 


3,5C¥).000 
3,200,000 


January 1 , 1873 


7TO.0TO 


January 1, 1874 


350, OTO 




240.0TO 


January 1 1876 


75. OTO 


January 1, 1877 


60, OTO 


January 1, 1878 


50,0TO 
52,000 


January 1 , 1879 


January 1 1880 


60.000 


January 1, 1881 


70.0TO 


Jaiuiary 1, 1882 


77,(KiO 


January 1, 1883 


80,000 


January 1, 1884 


46, TOO 




13.000 


January 1 1886. . . 


3,500 


January 1, 1887 


450 


January 1, 1888 


300 


January 1, 1889 


150 


150 


130 



256 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

In this unparalleled slaughter, thousands of individuals 
sought the vocation for a profit. Many of them had had 
no experience whatever, and in thousands of cases mor- 
tally wounded their game, which escaped only to die far 
from the place where they were shot. In the foregoing 
table Colonel Jones has figured closely from his own 
observations, and no doubt is approximately correct. 
Some readers may think that the number reported for 
1865 somewhat exaggerated, Init the Colonel says they 
were like the angels recorded by John in Revelation — 
innumerable. To a person not well posted on the subject, 
it seems impossible there could have been as many as re- 
lated. In his calculations, Colonel Jones has balanced 
the increase against death by wantonness and natural 
causes. It will be observed that in 1871-2 was the great- 
est slaughter. Farmers on the frontier left their excel- 
lent tracts and went out to kill buffalo for their hides, 
which suddenly grew in demand. It was a rich harvest 
for them, as it was no uncommon thing for two men with 
a team to clear from thirty to fifty dollars a day, and 
many "outfits" killed as high as two hundred of the 
animals in the same time. Each "outfit" was easily 
traced over the prairies by the peculiar method adopted 
of skinning its game. Some would take off the hide in 
excellent shape, leaving the head on the carcass, and 
then turn it over by main strength, while others cut off 
the head, and rolled the carcass on its back, using the de- 
capitated mass to block up the carcass, thus facilitating 
the process of skinning. Some would drive a sharp steel 
rod through the neck of the animal and into the hard 
ground about eighteen inches, cut around the head back 
of the horns, split the skin on the belly, skin around the 
legs, then hitch a rope to the hide at the neck, and at- 
tach the rope to the doul^letrees or to the rear of the 
wagon. To this the horses were fastened, and with a 
crack of the whip the team peeled off the hide as easily as 
taking oft' that of an onion. Others, who were fortunate 



hunters' method of skinning buffalo 257 

enough to possess two teams, would hitch one of them to 
the horns of the buffalo, and the other to the skin, thua 
holding the latter solid, and the team at the skin would 
at the word, jerk it off. Occasionally a man would go 
out alone on horseback. If he was anything of a "cow- 
boy," his operations in skinning were about as follows: 
After the upper side was skinned, he fastened his lariat 
around the under fore leg of the buffalo, as it lay dead on 
the ground ; then backed his horse up to the back of the 
carcass, very close to it, and, tying his rope around the 
horn or pommel of his saddle, easily turned the huge 
mass over. Some, who did not own a horse, hunted 
alone, hiring a team to convey them to the buffalo region, 
established a camp near one of a neighbor-party, and then 
killed the buffalo, piling up hides all over the prairie for 
a week or two, then would hire a team to haul them in to 
the station. These isolated hunters would alway pray for 
a herd of cows, as the bulls were so immense and heavy 
to handle that it was almost useless to undertake it ; yet 
when cows and young animals were not to be found, they 
attacked the bulls. 

Their method of saving the hides was to sever the 
head, skin the upper side of the carcass, then take off the 
upper ham and shoulder, extract the paunch, and if the 
lone hunter was a Sampson he could roll the balance of 
the huge carcass over so as to complete his skinning. 
Hunting the bulls alone was the hardest work. Colonel 
Jones says, he ever attempted. Yet he has killed as many 
as ten in one day, sold the hides for two dollars and fifty 
cents each, the hams at three cents a pound; each animal 
netting him eight dollars, or eighty dollars for his day's 
work. He could more easily dress three cows than one 
bull, and the cows would net about five dollars when near 
the railroad, and the weather sufficiently cool to permit 
the shipment of the meat to the markets of the large cities. 
Nearly every hunting " outfit" possessed some kind of a 
mark, or brand, which they cut on the hides as soon as 
— 17 



258 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

skinned, and woe to the individual who had the temerity 
to appropriate tliis property : no need of lawyers or law- 
books in those days. 

Colonel Jones gives the following interesting informa- 
tion regarding some of the rules l)y which all hunters on 
the Plains were governed in the olden days : 

"There were certain unwritten codes which governed 
all hunters, and he fared ill who transgressed any of 
them. For instance, when a buffalo was killed, with his 
knife the hunter would cut some place on the animal in- 
dicating its ownership. 

Again, the hunter who first fired a shot at a herd was as 
much in control of them, against all other parties, as 
though he had raised them from calves. No matter how 
badly other parties needed meat, they must keep their dis- 
tance. 

"The man who would deliberately pass on the wind- 
ward side of a herd while another was "stalking," or 
creeping up on them, was liable to have a ball whistle 
close to his ear. While a ' tenderfoot ' I tried the experi- 
ment, and can still hear the whiz of that rifie-ball, which 
passed uncomfortably near. 

" Should a crippled animal escape from a hunter, and 
be killed by another, the one who first drew blood was the 
owner. Two shots in quick succession were always given, 
and repeated, until relief came, when needed. 

" The latch-string of the hunter's cabin or tent was al- 
ways supposed to be on the outside and convenient to all 
visitors excepting the 'red man ' ; in other words, a hun- 
gry or thirsty hunter was welcome to quench his thirst 
with tea or coffee and appease his appetite with the best 
food in camp, and share the blankets, whether the owner 
was at home or not." 

The American bison has been described by many writ- 
ers, but in detached articles. To do justice to this re- 
markable animal would require a whole volume. They 



BIZE AND WEIGHT OF BUFFALO BULL 259 

are purely American in their form and peculiar habits ; 
bovine in their anatomical structure, but differing in 
many ways from the ox, which is the type of the genus 
Bos. They are strangely fitted to the distinctive features 
of their special halntat, an extent of countrj^ which is now 
the garden spot of the continent, made exceptionally fer- 
tile by the manure, bones and flesh of the millions which 
have lived and died there during centuries past. 

An average-sized bull is five feet ten inches in height, 
at the withers ; girth around the heart, nine feet three 
inches; from end of muzzle to tip of tail, ten feet two 
inches. The hair and fur on the shoulders are about four 
inches long, and on the hind part, in winter, about an 
i'nch and a half. The average weight of the luills, when 
in fair condition, is about nineteen hundred and fifty 
pounds. They have a broad, short face, with eyes set in 
the side of the head, thirteen inches apart, instead of in 
front, as is the case with most animals. They have 
beards like a goat, though much heavier, and often 
twelve inches long. The tail is the indicator of the ani- 
mal's temper, as he invariably erects it when making 
any wrathful demonstration. Captivity does not change 
his form in any particular, unless when he is confined in 
small, close pens; nor is he changed in his many curious 
traits and the acuteness of the senses, except in that of 
smell ; but he is more inactive than in a wild state. 

The wood or mountain buffalo was once quite numerous 
in the Rocky Mountains, l^ut is now extinct. They were 
of the same species as the buffalo of the Plains, but much 
smaller, short-legged, with a round, "mullet" head, and 
much darker. The differences in the characteristics of 
the two breeds were no doubt caused by their environ- 
ments and by interbreeding. 

Buffalo seldom roll in the mud, contrary to the general 
supposition, but excavate their " wallows " by pawing up 
the earth. The dust then blows away, and their shaggy 
coats are filled with dirt, which is shaken off at pleasure. 



260 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTUREB 

They shed their coats in May, and regain their fur as 
soon as the frosty nights appear in the fall, the " guard- 
hairs " alone remaining on through the heated summer. 
Their robes are prime in November and December, the 
fur being dark, soft and elegant; while later on it be- 
comes faded, harsh, and unattractive. 

Their mating season commences about July, and usually 
lasts two months. They seldom mire in swamps, as they 
have a happy faculty of wallowing through the mud after 
the manner of a hog. In their flight, they seldom gallop 
uphill, unless closely pursued, but invariably gallop down 
when scared or followed. When wounded they leave the 
herd and seek the most secluded spot possible, in the 
deepest caiion, wdiere they remain until fully recovered or 
die. They generally start to run against the wind, but do 
not persist in this trait, contrary to the deer, which never 
fail to run with it when pursued or scared. When fright- 
ened or pursued, the butfalo move much more rapidly 
when traveling toward the wind ; and their sense of 
smell is so acute they know the instant there is danger 
ahead. 

When you read of bulTaloes " trotting off," you may 
rest assured that the author of the statement knows noth- 
ing of the habits of the animal. They invariably walk or 
gallop. They are naturally very stubborn, and yield to an 
enemy only after heroic efforts on their part. They never 
retrace their steps after once starting in a direction, and 
Colonel Jones often profited in his hunting adventures by 
knowing this trait. 

They never pursue a straight course in traveling. Their 
eyes are so placed in the head that it is impossible for 
them to see directly in front ; and especially is this true 
on account of the heavy locks on their forehead. Neither 
can they look backward, on account of their immense 
shaggy shoulders, hence they are compelled to keep one 
side or the other turned in the general direction in which 
they are going. Not being good travelers sideways, they 



joneb'b method of "stalking" buffalo 261 

look ahead with one eye and to the rear with the other, 
deflecting to the right and then to the left for a distance 
of two or three hundred yards. Thus they always have 
one eye covering the ground they are advancing over, and 
the other looking behind, watching for an enemy or the 
horns of their companions, — some of which are ever ready 
to test their strength by thrusting their sharp weapons 
into the flanks of those that precede them on the trail. 

Colonel Jones gives his own method of "stalking" the 
buffalo, as follows : 

"The successful hunter managed to place himself in 
the pathway of the coming herd ; laid down in a ravine or 
behind a knoll or divide, until they were as close as possi- 
ble. Then everything depended on the accuracy of the 
first shot, in order to get a stand on the herd, and it was 
always aimed for the heart or backbone of the leader, 
when within one hundred yards of the animal ; at the 
lungs if farther away. If the heart or vertebra were hit, 
the animal fell in its tracks ; if in the lungs, it ran from 
one to two hundred yards before dropping, which took 
the herd much farther off. After firing the first shot, I 
would wait until the animals stopped, which would be 
about a hundred yards from the place where the wounded 
one had fallen. I would remain perfectly quiet and mo- 
tionless until one of their number had assumed leader- 
ship and led off in the original general direction of 
the herd, they taking care to avoid the dangerous place 
where their leader had fallen. No sooner were they 
started than a bullet would be sent into the leader's vi- 
tals. The herd would run back a few rods, gather into 
a compact mass, and appear to hold a council, grunting 
and moving about in as small a range as possible. Then 
another would lead off to the other side of the danger- 
point, but keeping as near the old direction as he con- 
sidered safe, when a well-directed shot would bring it 
down. If these three shots were fatal, the herd was 
mine; if either one failed to kill, they went on their way 



262 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

rejoicing, excepting what few could be brought down by 
the shots sent after them as they ran. If the three were 
killed, the herd became completely demoralized, and none 
would venture to lead, knowing danger to he in front of 
them, and that death was certain to any which attempted 
to go to either side. Their stubborn natures would not 
allow a retreat. They would naturally bunch together, 
and stand still until the last one was killed, provided 
the hunter did not get excited and fire too rapidly, or 
did not rise up so high as to betray his whereabouts." 

The curious deviating from a straight course, as has been 
explained, is the cause of the crookedness of the buffalo 
trails yet to be seen on the prairies of the remote west. 
Colonel Jones positively affirms that a trail cannot be 
found anywhere that is longer than four hundred yards 
without a change in direction, yet the general course of 
the herd would be comparatively straight for a distance 
of thirty or forty miles. 

"Buffalo" Jones, in his efforts to perpetuate the 
American bison, has accomplished more than all others 
who have attempted it on a smaller scale, trying to fol- 
low his example; and had his earnest pleadings to those 
in authority for help in carrying out his project on a 
larger scale, been listened to, to-day the Government 
would have been in possession of the large herds then in 
existence in "No Man's Land" and southeastern Colo- 
rado, numbering two or three thousand, and the increase 
of their progeny for the past dozen years. 

As early as 1887 Colonel Jones went to the National 
Capital, where he plead with the United States Senators 
and Representatives of Kansas in Congress to enact a law 
which would protect the small herd of buffalo referred to 
in the preceding paragraph. Year after year he has 
warned our law-makers, and those higher in authority, 
that unless some measures were taken to prevent it the 
bison would soon become exterminated. All appeared 



COL. Jones's proposition to the government 263 

interested in having something done, but no one appeared 
to take the initiative. True, Representative Lacey, of 
Iowa, offered a resolution giving Colonel Jones a pension 
for life in recognition of his success in rescuing the last 
of the buffalo, but the Colonel refused to allow it to he 
considered by Congress. 

In the spring of 1896 he personally called at the White 
House, and laid this subject in all its details before Presi- 
dent Cleveland's private secretary, Mr. Thurber. He 
also visited the Secretary of the Interior, Hon. Hoke 
Smith, and filed a proposition with his department, of 
which the following is a copy : 

To the Honorable Secretary of the Interior, Washington, D. C: 

Having been notified, that no appropriation was allowed by Con- 
gress for the preservation of the remaining buffaloes in the Yel- 
lowstone National Park, and that only $1,000 is available that could 
be used for that purpose, I hereby make the following proposition, 
with a view of preserving them from a speedy extermination, viz. : 

If appointed with authority to preserve the buffalo in the Yel- 
lowstone National Park for the Government of the United States, 
I will furnish the means myself, proceed at once to the Park, and 
use my utmost endeavors in that direction. If possible,! will cor- 
ral them. If I should, fail, I will make a report to the Department 
of the true status of affairs and what is needed to preserve them. 

Upon receipt of said report, the Department is to pay me $500. 
Should I succeed in cori-alling the herd, or a portion of them, I 
will accept $200 per month and actual expenses while engaged in 
capturing and preserving the herd, the Government to have all the 
benefits of my service ; provided, the amount be paid over to me, 
or my order, within one year from my sworn report and itemized 
vouchers. Should the Government fail to pay said vouchers as 
above stipulated within one year from receipt of my report and 
vouchers, then I will deliver to the Interior Department of the 
United States one-half of the buffalo captured, and am to retain 
the remainder of the buffalo and have the privilege of keeping 
them corralled in the Park, or removing them at any time to any 
part of the world as my own property, or the property of those who 
assist me in my undertaking. 

Very respectfully, 0. J. Jones. 

Perry, O. T.; June 9th, 1896. 



264 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

The Assistant Secretary, Mr. Sims, appeared to be in 
earnest as to the action necessary to be taken. He wrote 
his acceptance of the proposition and signed it, then sent 
it to Secretary Smith for ratification, but the latter re- 
fused to santion it, and the bison were left to the mercy 
of the public. When the Superintendent of the Park 
made his next annual report he admitted, "The hand of 
man is against the bison," acknowledging, in a lengthy 
report on that subject, that there was no hope of pre- 
serving them. 

Again, in April, 1897, after President McKinley had 
taken his seat, and the new administration was fairly 
settled down to business, Colonel Jones visited the City of 
Washington, and found there was five thousand dollars 
available for the protection of the bison in the Yellow- 
stone National Park. He was confident that not to ex- 
ceed twenty or thirty of these animals were yet remaining 
there, but believing some measures should be taken for 
their preservation, and to enlighten the American people 
on that subject, he submitted a proposition to the Interior 
Department, of which the following is a copy : 

New York City, April 26, 1897. 

Hon, Thomas Ryan, First Asst. Secretary Interior — Dear Sir: I 
desire to call your attention to the fact that the American bison is 
on the verge of extermination. A great number of the magnifi- 
cent herd that roamed in the Yellowstone National Park have 
been slain without mercy in the past two years. As near as can 
be estimated, 250 out of the 300 have been wantonly murdered 
for their valuable heads and hides. Unless heroic measures are 
adopted at once, the remaining few will meet the fate of their 
kind before another year passes. 

Having had many years of active experience in capturing and 
rearing over one hundred head of these noble animals, I am con- 
fident the only thing to do is to corral the remaining band, 
and thereby reproduce a herd that every true American will be 
proud of. 

I have captured and reared with my own hands buffalo of all 
ages, and know every trait and habit of the animal. I could refer 
you to thousands who would testify to my success in rescuing and 




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NO ACTION TAKEN 265 

preserving the bison, as well as all other valuable American ani- 
mals that inhabit my latitude. 

If the Government desires the American bison rescued and per- 
petuated, and will give me reasonable pay, I will be pleased to 
undertake it. Confident that it can and should be speedily ac- 
complished, I am 

Yours very truly, 

(Signed) C. J. Jones, 

("Buffalo Jones.") 

Unfortunately, no action was ever taken ])y the Depart- 
ment upon these propositions, and the United States lost 
forever its greatest race of native animals. 

At the close of the year 1898, by close calculation, 
there were over five hundred domesticated buffalo scat- 
tered throughout the world, the lineage of which is traced 
back to the efforts of Colonel Jones. 



CHAPTER XVII 

ONE OF THE GEEATEST EACES ON EECOED 

OPENING OF THE CHEROKEE OUTLET — OKLAHOMA, "THE 
BEAUTIFUL LAND " HORSES AND RIDERS TRAMPLED BE- 
NEATH A LIVING AVALANCHE — GENUINE " JEHU " AND 
RED-HEADED GIRL IN THE RACE — THE MOST RECKLESS 

EQUESTRIENNE IN THE WORLD FACTS NEVER BEFORE 

MADE KNOAVN REGARDING THE OPENING OF OKLAHOMA 

WHEN the proclamation of President Cleveland 
was promulgated, Colonel Jones was living in 
Omaha, Nebraska. He realized there was to 
be a great race, and knowing so well the art of 
making long and successful rides, he determined to once 
more enjoy the sensation so often realized during his life 
of adventure, and lost no time in getting in line. He re- 
lates the advent of the opening in a clear and dispassion- 
ate manner, as follows : 

"Many, many years ago, I read in a newspaper: 
' There is a tract of country about as large as the State 
of Massachusetts, lying south of Kansas in the Indian 
Territory, called in the Indian language, 'Oklahoma,' 
which by interpretation means 'The Beautiful Land.' 
Little did I at the time think that I should be the first 
paleface to enter that picturesque spot for a home. A 
third of a century rolled on ; then the newspapers an- 
nounced that a portion of ' the beautiful land ' ( known 
as the Cherokee Outlet, in Oklahoma) would be thrown 
open to settlement on September 16th, 1893; that it was 

(266) 



OPENING OF THE CHEROKEE OUTLET 267 

unlawful for any person to enter upon that land or even 
pass over it prior to that date. The penalty for violation 
was a forfeiture of any and all rights to ' prove up ' on a 
tract of land or a town lot. It will be remembered the 
'Outlet' was a tract of land seventy miles wide adjoin- 
ing Kansas on the south, and extending from the Arkan- 
sas river on the east 300 miles to the westward. It was 
known as the ' Cherokee Outlet,' from the fact that it was 
many years ago set apart by Congress as an outlet for the 
Cherokee Indians to the Great Plains, where roamed 
millions of buffalo upon which the red men depended for 
food. The Government finally bought this tract of land 
from the rightful owners, the Cherokee Indians, and or- 
ganized a ' free-for-all ' race to citizens of the United 
States, to determine who should win the prizes to be 
given away. 

" At this particular contest — for that is just what it was 
— the Government offered a quarter-section of land and a 
town lot to the one first establishing himself thereon. All 
were to start simultaneously from the line bordering the 
strip. Thus it required horsemanship of the highest 
order, as there were about six contestants for each tract 
of land. Paul Revere, Putnam, Jennie McNeal and Gen- 
eral Sheridan all have left the never-dying story of their 
dashing and daring rides. They were inspired by purely 
patriotic motives, yet so far as the i)hysical aspect of 
their memorable deeds is concerned, the history of this 
opening presents acts of individual nerve, dash, and en- 
durance, equally, if not more wonderful. Although the 
promptings were entirely of self-interest, these rides were 
comparable to anything which has been attempted in 
feats of horsemanship. Many of those who rode in that 
fearful struggle, some of whom went down to their death, 
will no doubt be regarded by generations to come as 
heroes and heroines ; for after all, it is frequently the act 
of the person and not always the motive inspiring him 
which causes him to be regarded as such. 



268 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

"It being contrary to law to enter the coveted land 
before high noon, of that date, compelled thousands to 
congregate at the nearest point, nine miles south of 
Perry, where was located the United States land office, 
and all knew it would be the largest city in the Territory. 
United States soldiers were stationed along the line to 
guard against intruders and give the signal at the ap- 
pointed time, when all were at liberty to enter legally. 
A great many had stolen through the line the night be- 
fore, and were classed as ' sooners.' 

' ' I was waiting on the extreme left of the assembled 
throng, with two horses, — my old buffalo-horse 'Jubar' 
and the strongest and best race-horse to be had in the 
State of Nebraska ; each one rigged with the lightest sad- 
dle possible, weighing only eight pounds each, while a 
strong rope about three feet long, attached to the ring of 
the cinch of each saddle, held the horses together. I had 
learned while running wild horses on the Plains that the 
poorest old wild horse I ever found could outwind the best 
blooded grain-fed thoroughbred attainable. I had rea- 
soned out the cause to be that the wild horse carried no 
load, while the thoroughbred was compelled to carry 
about one hundred and seventy pounds, including saddle, 
which ' cut his wind ' very quickly. I often experimented 
at riding two horses in the chase after buffalo calves. The 
method adopted was : As soon as the horse ridden com- 
menced to wheeze, I would quickly change to the other, 
without checking them in the least ; the horse would im- 
mediately catch his wind, and by the time the other be- 
came winded, the first would l)e fairly rested, when I 
would change back to him. By thus changing back and 
forth I could make unprecedentedly long races and quick 
time. The change was made by throwing the leg over the 
horse's neck toward the one I desired to mount, in the 
style a lady rides, then, placing it on the rope which held 
the horses together, I threw the other leg over the horse's 



THE RACE FOR C'LAIMB 269 

back, and was firm in the saddle, without checking, no 
difference at what rate of speed we were going. 

" With this knowledge and experience I took my place 
in the great cavalcade with as much confidence and deter- 
mination to win the race as if all others had been mounted 
on Mexican burros. Many of the would-be winners asked 
what I intended to do with the extra horse. I made no 
explanation, excepting that I intended to ride him. No 
one had the least idea of my intentions until about a 
mile after starting, when those nearest witnessed the 
first change from one horse to the other while going with 
such terrific speed. Instead of being angry, as I had sup- 
posed would be the case, a great shout went up from fully 
a hundred or more, while those nearest expressed them- 
selves in such language as, 'That's the fellow that will 
get there! He 's a winner,' etc., no doubt realizing they 
were racing under disadvantages. 

"There were fully eight thousand horsemen who awaited 
the signal at the starting-point. As the noon hour ap- 
proached they became more and more anxious ; even the 
horses realized that a great race was in prospect, as they 
pawed the earth, reared and snorted in their eagerness to 
go. The horsemen were lined up twenty deep, one be- 
hind the other, standing side by side for a mile along the 
line. 

"The soldiers rode back and forth in front of the vast 
array, to see that no one entered })efore the proper time. 
When ' high noon ' arrived, one of the soldiers discharged 
his gun, which all understood to be the signal to start, 
and the great race was on. It was one of the most excit- 
ing and desperate struggles ever recorded. 

" Being on the extreme left, I started straight north for 
Perry. Fortunately, the divide swung to the northwest, 
and soon I was on its crest. Having been in so many ex- 
citing races on the Plains, and in lassoing and driving 
buft'alo bulls in chariot-races, I was not di8tur})ed in the 
least, consequently noticed many things which no doubt 



270 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

others failed to recognize. The first thing that attracted 
my attention after starting was the mighty buzz and roar 
of the horses striking the weeds and grass with their feet, 
and the rattle of their hoofs on the hard, dry earth. It 
brought back most vividly the olden days, as it was a 
duplicate Of the sensation when in close proximity to a 
buffalo stampede. 

" When about a mile out, and just after changing from 
my race-horse to Jubar, I heard someone in the rear shout 
in thundering tones, ' Get out of the road ! Get out of 
the road ! ' I was just slacking up a little in order to 
cross an old trail which had been partly grown over with 
grass, and fearing a deep gutter was hidden beneath, hav- 
ing been whipped out by the wind, as is often the case, 
I knew it would be dangerous to go at full speed across it. 
When safely over, I looked back and saw a magnificent 
team of horses hitched to a buckboard, and a man stand- 
ing thereon, his coat off, while he was laying on the lash 
unmercifully. On the seat sat a young woman, with hair 
as red as red could be. Just then the horses leaped the 
old trail, the wheels went deep into the gutter, then flew 
high in the air, which sent the man and woman fully four 
feet upward. As they came down, both grabbed the seat, 
holding on for their lives. The horses circled to the left, 
and it was the last I saw of the ' Jehu ' and his red-headed 
darling. The ridiculousness of this incident afforded me 
so much amusement that I indulged in a good hearty 
laugh, which I could not help, though I knew they must 
have been badly hurt and their lives in peril. 

"Just as I was making my second change of horses, 
about two miles out, a horse ahead of me fell dead. The 
animal I was mounting gave a tremendous leap to clear 
the feet of the fallen beast, which precipitated my right 
foot to the ground between my two horses. Having a 
good grip on the horn of each saddle, and my left foot 
across the rope which held them together, I gave a spring 
from the ground while the horse was high in the air, and 



PASSING THE " B00NEE8 " 271 

with a mighty pull with my arms as he came down, I went 
up safely into the saddle. On looking back I shouted to 
the unfortunate man, ' Stick your stake and claim the 
land ! ' It was a beautiful tract, but I afterward learned 
that the man's leg was broken in the fall, and that he was 
sent to his Eastern home. I learned also that the soldier 
who gave the signal had his horse knocked down, and both 
horse and rider were trampled to death by the resistless 
avalanche. 

"When within three miles of Perry, two men and a 
lady, ' sooners,' came dashing up out of a ravine just to 
my right. Having fresh horses they had advantage of all 
others. The lady rode a Jet-black charger, and was one of 
the most reckless horsewomen I ever saw, and would have 
done credit to the 'Rough Riders.' I whipped my horses 
severely, but could hot pass her. It was humiliating to be 
compelled to go into Perry with a lady leading. I jumped 
to my old favorite buffalo-horse Jubar, cut the rope that 
held the horses together, and dashed past the mysterious 
equestrienne. On looking ahead, I saw the two houses which 
composed the city of Perry. The trail made a detour to 
the left in order to descend a steep bluff, which dropped 
off into a deep valley, lined with trees and brush. Seeing 
nearly a mile could be saved by making straight for the 
houses, I left the trail and went thundering down the 
bluff for fear the lady would again pass me. The grass 
was high on the side-hills and hid innumerable flat rocks, 
some ten feet square, and Jubar was right among them be- 
fore I knew of tlieir presence. Knowing he was sure- 
footed, I quickly decided it would be better to let him 
have his own way than to check him, for by so doing I 
would throw him off' his well-directed course. Having a 
slack rein he never checked his gait, but passed safely 
over precipitous rocks with almost incredible speed. 
About half-way down I saw that he was going to land on 
a large flat stone which was tilted up at an angle of about 
forty degrees. I felt certain his feet would go from under 



272 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

him and he would land on his left side. I quickly jerked 
my left leg up high, that I might not be caught as many 
are who fail to keep their legs in an advantageous position 
when on a falling horse ; but, contrary to my expecta- 
tion, he appeared merely to touch the stone, just enough 
to send him to a good footing, and I breathed much easier 
when we reached the trees and brush. In the descent I 
passed eight or ten horsemen, and continued the wild ride 
until reaching the ravine, which was about eight feet 
across, with a high bank close beyond. I reined the horse 
a little diagonally, and he made one of his famous 
leaps and passed along without checking. I then crossed 
the main stream and ascended an almost perpendicular 
bank about forty feet high, which was accomplished by 
the horse running up obliquely while I ran at his side 
until reaching the level, when I was again on his back. 
In ascending I passed the last two competitors, and it ap- 
pears to me the fastest race I ever made was the last mile 
to the claim adjoining Perry on the south, where I stuck 
my flag and claimed the land as a homestead. I then 
proceeded to the 'city,' arriving there before all others, 
except 'sooners.' 

" My race-horse I never saw afterward, but learned 
that the lady and her escorts while following me came to 
the ravine which Jubar had so gallantly cleared, and here 
her horse while attempting to leap the ravine went with 
such force across it that he struck the bank and broke his 
neck. The gentlemen caught my race-horse, which was 
endeavoring to follow me. The lady mounted it, and ar- 
rived at Perry in time to secure a valuable lot just east 
of, and facing the public square. This lot she sold within 
a week for five hundred dollars. Being a 'sooner,' she 
could not have proved up on it, and merely sold her quit- 
claim. The lady was from the Indian Territory, near 
the Creek Nation. She was known to all that portion of 
the country as one of the l)est deer- and turkey-hunters of 
the region, and took great delight in riding her race- 



DE6PERAD0EB 273 

horses with deer-dogs in pursuit of the wild animals of 
that country. I am only sorry I do not remember the 
name of this, one of the greatest equestriennes of the age. 
" Jubar that day made his last race, as I promised that 
if we won he should forever be on the retired list ; and he 
now roams the green pastures of ' The Beautiful Land.' " 



During Colonel Jones's long and eventful career on the 
extreme frontier he has met with all kinds of desperadoes, 
and some who, though always having possessed good repu- 
tations, would be much scandalized should their true char- 
acter be made public. In private the Colonel has related 
to me some of the most daring and reckless personal ad- 
ventures that occurred in the palmy days of such charac- 
ters as the James and Younger brothers, and later with 
" Billy the Kid," whom the Colonel helped to capture in 
1882, in New Mexico. He was often accosted by stage- 
and bank-robbers, footpads, cattle- and horse -thieves. 
But he refrains from allowing anything recorded in this 
book of such experience ; giving as a reason that there are 
so many false narratives floating through the country rel- 
ative to such characters, the reader might confound the 
truth with fiction. 



18 



SECOND PART. 



BUFFALO JONES'S ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

BUFFALO JONES 

BOUND FOR THE ARCTIC REGIONS AFTER MUSK-OXEN AND 
OTHER ANIMALS — ROUTE THROUGH CANADA — WHITE GIRL 
HELD AS CAPTIVE BY INDIANS — IN A BOAT, ALL ALONE, 
LEAVES CIVILIZATION — NATIVES OPPOSE HIS MISSION — 
BOAT CAPSIZES AND INDIANS REFUSE HIS " LIFE-LINE " — 
SUNSTROKE IN A FRIGID ZONE — CROSSING LAKE ATHA- 
BASKA — ON THE PEACE AND SLAVE RIVERS — BIG CHIEFS 
HOLD A COUNCIL TO PREVENT HIS PROGRESS 

AFTER Colonel Jones had spent several years on the 
coast of the Gulf of Mexico, whose climate did 
not suit his active nature, and under its influence 
he was becoming sluggish, he returned to Okla- 
homa, where he served as sergeant-at-arms in the House 
of Representatives. 

After the session closed, he became restless and the 
spirit of adventure swelled within him. He had often 
read of the mighty musk-ox, the most remote animal of 
the world, and realized there never had been any in cap- 
tivity. Although it was almost like crossing the "river 
Jordan," and into another world, he never rested until on 
his way to the lonely shores of the Arctic Ocean. 

{ 277 ) 



278 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

He narrates that most wonderful of expeditions that he 
( and I might say, or any other man ) ever attempted and 
survived. When the reader remembers that Sir John 
Franklin, a half-century ago, with one hundred and 
thirty-seven heroes, backed by the British Government 
and with the cooperation of the United States and Can- 
ada, as well as the friendship of the northern Indians, all 
perished in that far-away northern zone, he will concede, 
at least, that Colonel Jones's stupendous undertaking 
( part of the journey all alone, and never to exceed one 
companion ) surpasses anything in the way of northern 
explorations ever accomplished. It also proves that the 
Colonel is not only a hunter of exceptional skill, but a 
"killer" as well, or he would have perished from starva- 
tion. 

He relates the facts of his daring undertaking in this 
and the following chapters : 

"At daybreak on the 12th of June, 1897, I boarded 
the lightning express train of the A. T. & S. F. Ry., 
at Perry, Oklahoma, for the Arctic regions, and ere I 
returned the sun had risen and set four hundred and 
ninety-five times. 

"My route was by way of St. Joseph, Omaha and St, 
Paul to Winnipeg, in Canada. From there I went about 
a thousand miles northwest to Calgary, on the Canadian 
Pacific R. R. 

" When near it, the largest city of that far-away north- 
ern country, we found all the creeks and ravines swollen 
into rivers. There had been a great flood — no one knew 
to what extent, as no news had been received from either 
the west or north. The telegraph wires were all down, 
and no doubt there were innumerable washouts, as no 
trains had ]jeen met or heard of, from those directions, 
for twenty-four hours. 

"At last we came in sight of Calgary, on the south fork 
of the Saskatchewan river, which must be crossed to get 
to the city. The train was halted, and all the crew walked 



CROSSING A DANGEROUS BRIDGE 279 

ahead to inspect the bridge. The water was up to the 
stringers, and an angry-looking torrent it was. 

" The majority of the inspectors decided it was passa- 
ble, but one of the passengers, who took it upon himself 
to speak on all occasions for the traveling public, ob- 
jected most strenuously, declaring he was an expert rail- 
road man, and that the train would surely go down, as 
the bridge was already more or less twisted and wrenched 
from its proper place. Presently the bell rang and the 
train moved slowly ahead, while the ' guardian of the pub- 
lic ' stood on the ground near the end of the bridge wait- 
ing for the train to be sul^merged and then he could say, 
'I told you so.' 

"The cars l^arely moved, which made it evident that 
the engineer realized the danger which unquestionably 
threatened him. The bridge vibrated to and fro, but that 
was' all, and the great 'mogul' engine was soon safe on 
the embankment. Before the last car entered the bridge, 
when the rear end of the train was passing our excited 
'protector,' he caught the railing and swung upon the 
platform of the rear coach, and we were soon in the once 
beautiful city. 

" Everything appeared to be wild with excitement ; even 
the animals showed it. The horses running loose carried 
their heads high and trotted over the vacant blocks, tails 
up, and occasionally snorted as if danger were imminent. 
The dogs barked and howled alternately. 

"As soon as I arrived at the Queen's Hotel, I could see 
people lining up along the banks of Bow river, that skirted 
the city on the north. Some had ropes, others axes and 
all kinds of sticks and poles. It did not take long to de- 
termine what caused the excitement. I could see houses 
in the river, upset in almost every conceivable shape ; 
some were on their sides, others bottom upward, some 
floating down the river, and others sliding gradually into 
it. I found the great iron bridge had l)een undermined 
and warped in all kinds of shapes. Wagons and horses 



280 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

could not cross, neither would the police permit pedes- 
trians to pass. 

"On the opposite side of the river were hundreds of 
white teepees, which I learned were occupied by Indians 
from far and near, who had assembled to do honor to the 
Queen's Jubilee, which was to occur the next day. For 
months they had been looking forward to that eventful 
time, and the longed-for day was near, when they contem- 
plated a great feast, and thus to show to the agents of the 
Great Mother that they were loyal, and no longer the hos- 
tile bands that had been the terror of that God-forsaken 
country for a length of time that the memory of man 
could not compute. They realized that in order to secure 
plenty of provisions, they must come with all their tribes 
to the Mecca of the Western World and show their devo- 
tion to the Great Mother. They made as big a show as 
possible, and all put on their best, — which was generally 
a pair of overalls and a plaid shirt for the men, and calico 
dresses for the women. They brought their ponies, dogs, 
squaws, papooses, — in fact everything, even the halt and 
the blind members of their tribes. No one able to hobble 
could be induced to stay behind; therefore all came. 

"I soon learned that a mysterious white girl had for 
the first time in many years been brought within the pale 
of civilization. I had once heard there was such a per- 
son held in captivity by a tribe or lodge of Blackfeet In- 
dians, and was very anxious to learn all I could concerning 
her whereabouts, ancestors, and how she was being treated. 
But the question then was how to cross the river to where 
the red men had pitched their tents. 

" The police were guarding the wrecked bridge, as there 
was no certainty what minute it would be submerged. By 
assuring them I was intending to assist a man, already on 
the dangerous structure, to fasten a rope to a house lodged 
against the upper side, near the shore where we stood, they 
allowed me to pass. I made a noose in the rope, threw it 
over the corner of the house, and handed the man the line. 



RECOGNIZED BY THE EX-CONVICT 281 

He commenced to work his way to shore, and I concluded 
then (and to Ije sure not before) to get to the opposite 
shore. This was accomplished by descending a swag in 
the bridge to the water's edge ; then I went hand over 
hand, clinging to a railing, to where the bridge stood at its 
proper height. I found the police guarding the north aa 
well as the south end of the bridge. There was no troul^le 
to get off the bridge, Init getting on was a different propo- 
sition. There was a great throng of Indians at the north 
end, all anxious to enter the city. I grasped the rope that 
was stretched across the entrance to keep the surging 
crowds from forcing the police backward, and slipped un- 
der. 

"Here I found myself among an excited band of In- 
dians. One l)ig ugly-looking redskin made a surge toward 
me, and shouted in broken English, ' How, Buffalo Jones ! ' 
I was dumlifounded. Could it be possible that some of 
the enemies I had battled with many years ago had wan- 
dered to this far-away country ? All the encounters I had 
ever had with various Indians during my long career on 
the Plains, flashed through my mind. I had seen the fel- 
low before, and as soon as the first flash of the startled 
sensation had passed, I responded, " Hello, Number Nine ! ' 
It was cruel in me to betray the poor fellow, but it was 
not intended on my part. He was sharp, and could speak 
fair English. ' My name is Jack,' was his cjuick response. 
I caught my senses and said, ' Yes, Jack, I know you well ; 
you were numljer nine of our hunting party, six years ago, 
after moose in Manitoba.' 'Oh, yes,' he said; 'didn't 
we have a h — 1 of a time with that old bull moose?' I 
said, ' Don't mention it,' and l)eckoned him to follow me, 
which he did (with pleasure, no doul)t). 

" The facts were the Indian was an ex-convict from the 
penitentiary at Stony Mountain, Manitolja, Canada. He 
was a very active cowboy, and an expert with the lasso. 
I had purchased sixty-five Imft'aloes from the warden of the 
penitentiary, Samuel Bedson ; and when I desired to lasso 



282 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

and hobble them in order to get the unruly brutes to the 
cars, they brought out 'No. Nine,' to assist me. At the 
penitentiary the only way a convict is designated is by 
his number ; by name, never. Therefore I addressed him 
as 'Number Nine.' Luckily I turned it off so that the 
English-speaking Indians, and the white people, standing 
near, did not mistrust his identity, as he was not known in 
that locality as a jail-bird. Now I was delighted to meet 
even an ex-convict so far from my native land ; besides, 
there were hopes of finding the white captive that I so- 
much desired to meet. Although a Cree, Jack could speak 
the Blackfeet language. He knew the girl quite well, and 
assured me he knew where she was. He told me the In- 
dians had kept her as far from the city as possible, and 
would never permit her to be alone, for fear the white 
people -would steal her. From Jack I learned the girl 
was fully seventeen years old, and lived with ' Winnipeg 
Jack ' and his squaw ; that they had raised her from a 
babe. They had once lived in Montana, U. S. A., and 
while at Fort Benton, seventeen years before, there was a 
great storm that covered all the earth with a white blanket 
of snow. The morning after the storm had abated, a 
beautiful paleface woman appeared at their wigwam with 
a bundle in -lier arms. They asked her in, and built a 
big fire. Presently she removed a heavy shawl from the 
bundle, and there was a beautiful little babe, about two 
weeks old. Jack's squaw had also a young papoose girl; 
but what a contrast ! The strange woman was well dressed,, 
and apparently quite young. She told Winnipeg Jack,, 
as his squaw could not speak English then, that she wanted 
them to take her babe and raise it ; that she had no hus- 
band, and was going to leave it. Jack told her the}^ had 
one papoose, but she rose and left the babe lying on a 
deerskin mat, — and that was the last and all they knew 
of the mysterious paleface, except what an old pilot on a 
steamboat at the wharf had told them. He said that the 
mother of the babe was from St. Louis ; had come up the 



"white blanket" 283 

Missouri river on his boat ; had been deceived by a man 
that. he knew well, and to hide her misfortune had taken 
the opportunity of giving the child a chance for its life. 
The big brave and his squaw soon became attached to the 
little stranger, and when they realized they were to keep 
it, were at a loss for a suitable name for the fair little 
white waif. They remembered the storm when it came to 
their wigwam, and as it was as white as the blanket of snow 
that had spread itself over the face of the earth, they 
gave her the name of ^ White Blanket.'' And thus the lit- 
tle paleface was christened, and her name became known 
throughout the Northwest Territory, by all the red men of 
the Plains. 

" Many other things of great interest did Jack, ' Num- 
ber Nine,' tell me. 

"While he was explaining things to me as we walked 
along, we saw two squaws coming toward us. Jack 
looked up and said, ' White Blanket ! ' and as we neared 
them, I saw one was a very large squaw with black hair, 
and skin nearly as dark. She was fully fifty years old. 
By her side, sure enough, walked the white maiden. The 
girl was about seventeen years of age, of medium height, 
slender, fair complexioned, with a few freckles on her 
cheeks. Her hair was what might be called dark auburn ; 
it was in two braids, and hung far below her waist. She 
wore a calico dress, rather reddish in color; it was short 
for her age, and might have been taken for a bicycle 
dress, as worn in the cities. She wore red stockings and 
moccasins handsomely worked with beads, with a cross 
made of glass attached thereto. Around her was a 
checked shawl that hung loosely about her shoulders. 

"As we approached. Jack said, 'White Blanket, big 
white man, Buffalo Jones.' I shook hands with her, and 
then with the big squaw. Neither of them grasped my 
hand as I had wished. They were very shy, and did not 
want to stop. I asked White Blanket, 'Can you speak 
English ?' She answered softly, ' Me English little speak,' 



284 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

but kept her face from me ; she pulled her shawl over her 
head, and I noticed they endeavored to get away from us. 
Being determined to get a photograj^h of the stranger, I 
had carefully loaded my kodak with films, and had it 
under my left arm, ready for a snap-shot if possible. 
Jack had told me it would be difficult, as Indians were 
afraid to have their pictures taken. Seeing I was getting 
the cold shoulder, I thought maybe they knew of Jack's 
hard character, and wanted to elude him. I whispered to 
him, telling him to stay where he was and I would talk 
to the girl. He smiled, but it did not discourage me. I 
walked after the women, and soon overtook them. Hav- 
ing foreseen the difficulty of ' standing in ' with Indian 
girls on short acquaintance, I had invested a half-dollar 
in candy and nuts, of which I knew Indians were always 
particularly fond. Walking up close l)y the side of the 
fair girl, I asked in as persuasive tones as I knew how, 
'White Blanket like candy?' She pulled her shawl 
closely over her face and turned it from me. I then 
stepped in front of her; she and the squaw stopped, l)ut 
turned their heads away. I repeated the words, and she 
answered, 'Got some?' My answer was, 'Yes, heaps 
candy and nuts; look here.' Slie did not look, but 
reached her hand back for the candy; but I insisted, 
' Look here, I want to see your face.' Then she burst out 
at me: ' No good white man. Me know what you want; 
white man no get it. Indian die soon Avhite man get pic- 
ture.' The old squaw spoke to the girl, and they started 
back for the teepee. I was not to be shaken so easily, but 
walked right along with the young miss, giving her candy 
every few steps. She appeared nervous, and walked pretty 
fast, — which suited me, as I could get along easily, while 
the old squaw soon fell behind, and I could talk more 
freely. By this time she would peep at me* through the 
shawl. 

"Finally she said, 'Where j^ou live?' I pointed to 
the south, and told her 'Far, far awav. No white blan- 



THE WHITE CAPTIVE 285 

kets where I live, — no snow, no ice, no cold; sun high 
over the head.' Pointing to some flowers near by, I told 
her 'Flowers there all the year; apples, oranges and fruit 
X^lenty.' She had been peeping through her shawl till I 
could plainly see two steel-gray eyes, but nothing more. 
Finally she asked in a soft tone, 'Heaven ? ' I had been 
endeavoring to describe the place where I had been the 
past year, — the Gulf coast and Mexico. But when she 
asked if it was 'Heaven' where I was from, it was too 
ridiculous to think about. It quickly brought back to 
my mind that place of torment, where the mosquitoes 
and gnats reign supreme; where the alligators and moc- 
casin snakes make life hideous; where the centipedes and 
tarantulas never cease from troubling and the wicked have 
no rest. I ' haw-hawed ' aloud, and the poor girl no doubt 
thought I was shouting because she realized there was a 
place of rest for poor Indians in the Great Hereafter. 
We were far ahead of the old squaw, and I insisted on 
getting the girl's picture, Init she told me; 'Injun mad, 
white man get picture ; Injun 'fraid white man see picture 
and take White Blanket far, far.' Finally, when we ar- 
rived at the wigwam, she said, ' Come when see sun, — one 
sleep. Maybe l)ig Injun give white man picture.' All 
this time her head was wrapped in her shawl. The old 
squaw soon arrived, and I said good-night, as there was 
no hope for a picture before the morning sun, at least. 

" I was disappointed, ]:»ut still had hopes. Presently I 
came to where Jack was, and we hurried to the bridge, as 
the sun had already gone l^ehind the northwestern hills. 

"The police were still on duty, and I feared my lot 
was to lie that night in a wigwam, or on the grass, with- 
out even a blanket. I walked up, Ijoldly lifted the rope, 
and started down the bridge as if nothing was wrong. 
One of the police shouted, 'Hold on, there!' I looked 
around and pointed to the other end of the bridge, and 
said, ' I hav^e permission from the other side.' The other 
officer spoke up and said, 'AH right, sir; I remember 



286 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

you.' I passed over as before, l)ut when I reached the 
end of the bridge, found the river had risen fully eigh- 
teen inches, and I was obliged to pull off my shoes and 
wade across the bottom to higher ground. The next 
morning I was out before sunrise, and started for the 
bridge. There was no one near it; the river had fallen 
about two feet, and I passed over without difficulty. My 
friend Jack awaited me at the bridge, and we soon stood 
at the side of ' Winnipeg Jack's ' wigwam. I called in a 
mild voice, 'White Blanket! White Blanket I' but no 
' blanket ' responded. I repeated in louder tones, ' White 
Blanket, come ; Buffalo Jones, candy plenty ' ; but all the 
sound that could be heard was the barking of a little dog 
that stood uncomfortably near my heels. I was as deter- 
mined to see the Indian girl as was brave Hiawatha to 
see his Minnehaha. Long and loud did I call and beat 
against the wigwam with a long stick. Jack lifted the 
wigwam, and said, 'I get her! ' I took a snap-shot at 
him in the ridiculous position while lifting the tent. Fi- 
nally, when the side of the teepee was raised, the old 
squaw crawled out, and in very broken English said, 
'White Blanket sleep.' I insisted upon having her wak- 
ened, but the stupid old squaw merely yawned and said, 
'White Blanket sleep.' And in her solemn attitude I 
took another snap-shot. The train was to leave for Ed- 
monton, 200 miles north, at 8 o'clock, and'I realized it 
was time to 1)6 on my return to the city ; so I went my 
way sorrowfully to the hotel for breakfast. It was evi- 
dent that Jack had told the truth when he said it would 
be hard to get her picture, and that white men had even 
gone to their reservation and offered as high as $25 for 
one, but had never succeeded in getting it. She knew 
what a kodak was, as I could never induce her to uncover 
her face after seeing that treacherous little instrument. 

"The washouts on the railroad had been repaired, and 
our train pulled out on time. That night I found myself 
four hundred miles north of the northern boundary of 




WHITE BLANKET, CANDY PLENTY. 




WHITE BLANKET'S FOSTER-MOTHER. 



ARRANGING FOR THE JOURNEY 287 

the United States, at Edmonton, Province of Alberta, on 
the north fork of the Saskatchewan river. This point 
is the most northern limit of civilization. There are 
not to exceed a thousand inhabitants in the thriving 
little village. The main industry is the fur trade from 
the far-northern countries. The next day or two was de- 
voted to arranging to go, as did Abraham of old, into a 
country I knew not of. I had often heard sermons preached 
about that wonderful journey, the loneliness and dangers 
that surrounded it, and how terrible an undertaking it 
would be to attempt to penetrate the wilds where human 
feet had never trodden. Who could tell what the next 
step would reveal while wandering in such a far-away 
country? Yes, I had lain awake nights and endeavored 
to imagnie myself in such a deplorable (?) situation, and 
to draw conclusions as to what to do when in every con- 
ceival^le perilous position. If shipwrecked, I would swim 
ashore. Acting upon this suggestion, I bought a life- 
preserver, made of rubber, to buckle around my body. If 
violent storms came, I would wrap in blankets made of 
buffalo's wool. I provided two pairs. If rain and sleet, 
would cover with ruljl^er. I provided myself with gos- 
samers and rubber blankets. If I encountered mountains 
and ice, would wear shoes with steel calks. And thus I 
kept adding to my storehouse. My mission was to bring 
out from the Arctic regions musk-oxen alive, if possible ; 
also silver-gray fox, marten, and other valuable fur- 
bearing animals, to propagate on an island in the Pacific 
ocean. I provided traps of every description, chains suit- 
able for animals of all sizes, ropes and swivels, Ijridle- 
bits, leather for headstalls, bull-rings for the noses of the 
musk-ox, chain hobl^les with heavy leather straps, and 
every conceivable article that I thought serviceable. But 
the most valuable thing of all others, as I figured, was not 
neglected, — shepherd dogs, of which I procured seven. To 
be sure, they were too small to work to sledges, but I 



288 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

could procure large dogs of the Indians and Eskimos for 
that purpose in the far North. 

"In the line of provisions, I laid in 1,500 pounds of 
flour, 400 pounds of bacon, besides beans, rice, oat-meal, 
coffee, tea, sugar, and such minor articles as one needs on 
trips of this nature. When I came to load a lumber- 
wagon, I found it would carry but little more than half 
my outfit. Another team was secured, and I climbed upon 
one of the wagons with a dog-whistle in my mouth, as it 
took continual calling to keep the little dogs together. 
The fourth day, through mud, rain, mosquitoes, and large 
horseflies ( known in that country as ' bulldogs ' on account 
of their propensity for ])lood), we reached Athabaska 
landing, on the Athabaska^ river, one hundred miles to 
the north. There, on the south bank of that swift moun- 
tain river, I built my boat. I gave it a finishing touch on 
the evening of the 13th of July. It was 25 feet long, 9 
in the beam, and had a capacity of 5,000 pounds. That 
night I was kept busy until eleven o'clock, transferring 
my supplies into it. At sunrise the following morning 
I weighed anchor and started off. The day was an ideal 
one, and I flattered myself I should find easy sailing, l)ut 
before going five miles discovered that my craft was en- 
tirely too large to be successfully managed by one man, 
and that it was drifting dangerously near the shore ; while 
immediately ahead was a treacherous shoal. The Atha- 
baska river is noted for the number of these shoals and 
rapids, and to steer clear of them requires constant vigi- 
lance and good seamanship. I managed, with the aid of 
a large oar, working it first on one side and then on the 
other, to pass safely over. 

"About three o'clock in the afternoon a terrific rain- 
storm overtook me, and I was thoroughly drenched. I 
protected my supplies by covering them with a tarpaulin, 
but did not dare to crawl under it myself, as the wind 

' Athabaska, an Indian word meaning " without a spirit " ; or, as we would liberally 
translate it, "God-forsaken." 



CAMPING ON THE RIVER-BANK 289 

was constantly drifting the boat out of its course. As 
soon as one of these peculiar tempests cleared away, an- 
other would follow in quick succession, and they con- 
tinued until sundown, when I pulled to the shore for the 
purpose of camping. Just as I was going to land I cast 
my eyes toward the bank, and saw a group of forty 
squaws and children intently gazing at me. I immedi- 
ately turned into the current again, upon which the In- 
dians set up a lamentation. They had expected I would 
certainly land, and it would be a grand opportunity for 
them to beg supplies. 

"After passing a bend of the stream, and now being 
out of sight of the beggarly savages, I turned to the shore 
and tied up for the night. The first act after fastening 
my boat securely was to loose seven shepherd dogs and 
one bloodhound, that I had kept chained for over a week 
to prevent the Indians from stealing them ; consequently 
they were very savage. One of them I had purchased 
from a half-breed boy, who informed me that the animal 
was a mixture of collie and spaniel ; that he was ' a 
scrapper from 'way back.' The moment I turned him 
loose he stationed himself on the bank of the river, and 
as fast as the other dogs landed he ' went for ' them in- 
dividually, and gave them such a shaking that their 
howling soon informed the Indians in the whole region 
where I had camped. 

"Another storm was brewing, and I hastily set fire to a 
pine log, made a cup of tea, spread my robes under a 
clump of trees, and after partaking of the frugal meal 
was soon wrapped in my blanket, listening to the patter- 
ing of the rain that had commenced to fall on my rubber 
tarpaulin. 

"The Indians, very shortly after I had retired, found 

their way to my camp, but ' Scrapper,' as I called him, 

led the whole pack of dogs in a break for the intruders, 

which I encouraged by 'sicking' them on, and in a few 

— 19 



290 FORTY YEAES OF ADVENTURES 

minutes the redskins incontinently dashed away through 
the brush, and left me to sleep peacefully. 

"I was off the next morning by four o'clock. The 
wind blowing from the right point, I improvised a sail, 
and made excellent time through the mazes of my tortu- 
ous course. At eight o'clock that evening I arrived at the 
upper end of Pelican rapids, where I was to meet a man 
who was to accompany me to the 'Barren Lands,' — Aleck 
Kennedy, a half-breed. I found three men stationed at 
this place, who were boring for petroleum under the au- 
spices of the Canadian Government. They informed me 
that Kennedy had gone away, and left word he could not 
make the promised trip. I had contracted with three 
men in the United States to go with me; another at Ed- 
monton, three at Athabaska Landing, and this Kennedy, 
who had been vouched for as absolutely reliable by the 
Hudson Bay Company ; but all of them had backed out ! 
What should I do? The dangerous rapids were just 
iihead. I had been Avarned of them by every boatman I 
met on my journey. I knew also that there were dozens 
of similarly treacherous places below, but had started for 
the north, and go I would, pilot or no pilot. 

"At half-past four the next morning I whistled to my 
dogs, and was soon pulling through the splashing water. 
The roar of the falls ahead resembled the sound of dis- 
tant thunder, I shot down the turbulent current, apply- 
ing the oars vigorously, so as to give the boat a greater 
momentum than that of the stream, which would enable 
me to steer among the rocks without dashing upon them. 
As soon as safely by one treacherous-looking ledge, I again 
worked at the oars, and when near the immense boulders, 
rushed to the helm, and with a long sweep guided my 
trembling craft through the rapids, sometimes receiving a 
few scratches and bumps. I encountered other rapids at 
short intervals for fifty miles. At last the boat drifted 
into still water, which reminded me of the old-fashioned 
mill-ponds of my boyhood days. I then realized that the 




GRAND RAPIDS OF THE ATHABASKA. 




HUDSON BAY CO.'S BOAT SHOOTING" A CASCADE IN THE 
NINETY-MILE RAPIDS. 



DANGEROUS NAVIGATION 291 

great rapids were near. I had been warned not to attempt 
to go over them, at my peril. 

"As I was rapidly approaching them, and could plainly 
hear the seething of the foaming current as it gathered 
momentum every instant, four boats, all occupied by In- 
dians except one in which were two white men, came fly- 
ing by, each manned by five men — four at the oars and one 
holding the sweep. Three passed between me and the 
shore, and swung in to land. I was following in good or- 
der, when a gust of wind careened my boat and forced it 
against a boulder whose sharp point barely rose to the 
level of the angry water. I realized the danger, l)ut was 
powerless to avoid it. The boat nearly upset, then sud- 
denly whirled about and sped on, stern first. This threw 
me still farther out into the current, and as I was endeav- 
oring to right the boat, the last one of the other party put 
in between me and the shore. As they were manipulating 
their long sweep, it struck my craft and shoved me still 
farther away than ever. It appeared as if the fates were 
against me, but I rushed to the bow and threw my ' life- 
line ' to the crew of the boat. One of the oarsmen caught 
it, but the steersman yelled out for him to drop it, which 
he did, and the next instant I was carried rapidly toward 
the great cascade. I was cool, and said to myself, ' Now for 
one more trial!' and, grabbing the oars, pulled for the 
shore as I never before pulled. At this juncture, one of 
the mounted police (who are at that far-away place to 
guard against casualties and prevent ardent spirits from 
being smuggled to the Indians), saw my danger, and 
waded far out into the water and shouted for me to throw 
him my line. It was all coiled up, and gathering it as if 
about to lasso a buffalo calf, I let it fly so as to light in the 
water above the soldier. As I intended, it drifted against 
his legs and he caught it, and I was luckily towed to the 
shore just in time to escape the dreadful cataract. 

"•I asked the steersman who had ordered his oarsman 
to let go my line, why he did so. He exonerated himself 



292 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

by saying, ' It was better for one man to be killed than 
six.' That was poor consolation for me, and I read him 
the cowboy ' riot act, ' telling him I hoped to catch him 
in as tight a place before we reached the Great Slave lake ; 
then I would teach him a lesson in Christianity. I asked, 
' Do you know what I will do? ' ' No,' he replied. I sard, 
' I will rescue you and all others, or die in the attempt.' 
He was humiliated at the reproval. 

"All goods shipped up or down the river must be trans- 
ported by land over an island at least half a mile long, 
having a channel on each side. ( See cut of west channel.) 
It is an interesting sight to watch thirty or forty Indians 
at one time carrying furs and merchandise on their backs, 
making this portage. They are so trained as l)easts of 
burden that they carry on an average from two to three 
hundred pounds each. They do not seem to be as lazy 
as our southern Indians ; when they work, they go at it 
with a zeal that is commendable. 

"The Hudson Bay Fur Company has a tramway over 
the island, but free traders are not allowed to use it. It 
requires all kinds of scheming to get a cargo of furs up 
the river. In ascending with a loaded boat, when the foot 
of the falls is reached, several men are sent around to the 
ujjper end with a heavy rope about five hundred feet long. 
A canoe is procured at the j)olice station, and by going 
far above and floating down the center of the river, the 
upper end of the island is reached. Then they go over to 
its lower extremity, tie a log to one end of their rope, 
fasten the other to the immense rocks, and throw the log 
into the seething waters. The crew on board the boat be- 
low dart out through the eddy, catch the line, and haul 
their craft up through the great frothing swells, that look 
almost insurmountable. Many boats lie at the foot of 
the falls, completely disabled from blows received in 
thumping against the great boulders. Many a man has 
been hurled to death by attempting to descend the falls, 
and none ever survived the ordeal. 



EXTORTIONATE INDIANS 293 

"I remained here three days, and made a contract with 
four Indians to take me and my cargo to Fort Smith for 
twenty dollars (forty skins ).^ On the 18th of July thej^ 
loaded their own freight, while I was engaged in loading 
mine, consisting mostly of flour, bacon and other provi- 
sions. A third of my goods were already either in the 
boat or on the rock to be put in, when the interpreter 
said : ' Let us understand ourselves : we are to have eighty 
skins (worth |40) to take you to Fort Smith?' 'No, 
indeed ! ' I responded ; ' our contract is that you are 
to have forty skins ' ( $20 ) . He said nothing in reply, 
but motioned me to take my goods back to the island, 
which I did. The Indians thought there was no other 
way to get through, and determined they would extort 
all they could get from me, but I was as determined to 
stand by the terms of our agreement or have nothing to 
do with them. This outlook was discouraging, as I very 
well knew it was impossible for any human being to run 
the ninety miles of rapids by himself and come out alive. 
What was I to do? The soldiers would not permit me to 
go alone; they said it would be an act of suicide. Sol 
went back to the island and set up my tent. Although 
discouraged, I was determined to make every effort pos- 
sible to carry out my plans. The Hudson Bay Company 
had discharged several men, who were all bound south- 
ward for their homes. They had already been in the 
northern country for from six months to a year, and were 
anxiously counting the days when they would once more 
be with their families on the reservations. 

"I made another attempt, and by paying twenty dol- 
lars in advance induced a large, fine-looking Indian to 
accompany me to Fort McMurray, ninety miles away. 
He had been very anxious to become a pilot, and had fre- 
quently tried to get his employers to send him out as one. 

' A " skin " is an imaginary valuation, at one time based on a beaver-skin as the 
unit of value, worth about fifty cents of our money ; but a beaver is now worth twelve 
"skins." 



294 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

He reflected that here was an opportunity to show his 
skill, which might be of value to him in the future, as 
the pilot who can run all the rapids without knocking a 
hole or two in a flatboat commands a high salary. 

"All the men employed by the Hudson Bay Company 
told Joseph Deserley, the Indian I had hired, that he was 
a fool to try to guide a boat with only one oarsman, while 
all other boats had four; that no one man could pull a 
boat fast enough in the rapids to give it the momentum 
requisite to steer it accurately, as the pilot would neces- 
sarily be occupied all the time at the helm. 

"No attention was paid to this sermonizing. We man- 
aged to get the boat around ready for loading, and by 
extraordinary exertion the work was soon accomplished, 
and we dropped safely down one of the most difficult 
rapids, I plying the oars with all the skill and energy 
possible. The eyes of all the Company's men, and those 
of the crews going down the river, were upon us, to wit- 
ness what they supposed an impossibility. As luck, or 
pluck, would have it, we shot through without touching a 
single rock, and as we rounded the curve, saluted the gang 
of officers and Indians on the island by waving our hats, 
and darted out of sight. We shot over the big and little 
cascades at a certain point where a current of water from 
both the right and left appeared to meet, forming such a 
roll that we scarcely noticed the fall, the boat merely 
shipping about two bucketfuls during the 'shoot.' It is 
the only place where a boat can descend with safety ; and 
even there, if not exactly on the crest of the swell, a boat 
will swamp. 

" The Boiler rapids are the dread of all navigators, as 
no boat can go through without making a circuitous wind- 
ing among many boulders ; and the least variation from 
one particular route invariably proves fatal. The way 
these falls received their name was from the fact that the 
Hudson Bay Company were taking a large boiler down 
the river on a large scow, the boiler to be used in a steam- 




ED'.10NT0N. 




BOILER RAPIDS. 



RAPIDS SUCCESSFULLY PASSED 295 

boat they were building at Chippewayan. The pilot be- 
came 'rattled,' and lost his course. The scow struck a 
boulder, and was divided in halves ; the boiler dropped to 
the bottom, and has never been discovered. Ever since, 
this portion of the river has been known as ' Boiler rapids.' 
In fact, this stretch of ninety miles is a continuation of 
•cascades and rapids, making the journey one of continual 
dread and exciting adventure. 

"When we arrived at Fort McMurray we had made the 
ninety miles without a scratch, while three of the other 
four boats in venturing the dangerous passage had from 
three to four holes apiece knocked in them, one nearly 
sinking. The very Indians who had refused me passage 
smashed their ]3oat, and were badly scared. 

" The extraordinary efforts exercised by myself in this 
perilous undertaking were so great that I was nearly ex- 
hausted ; and my hands were covered with blisters. 

" Here I paid oft' my pilot with an extra fee in the shape 
of a pocket-knife and other trinkets so pleasing to the sav- 
age, which he prized more than the original sum of money 
which I had given him. I also gave him such a first-class 
certificate that it would have entitled him to a similar 
position on a fast-line American steamer crossing the At- 
lantic ocean. I shall never forget the expression on my 
rough pilot's face when we got into any difficulty dashing 
among' the rocks; the poor fellow could not speak one 
word of English, nor I of Cree. When in the most dan- 
gerous places he would yell most hideously, ' Scow I scow I 
pemi-scow I ' which I soon learned meant, ' Row ! row 1 
row hard I ' 

" Sunday, July 25th, was an uneventful day. I was 
again captain, mate, pilot, and deck-hand, navigating 
down the Athabaska quite peacefully, excepting now and 
then when compelled to row briskly to keep from l^eing 
thrown against a boulder, or drifting upon a bar of quick- 
sand. On Monday morning "I passed the mouth of Red 
river, which I afterward learned was the home of Siena, 



296 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

the liberator of the Slave tribe of Indians. At noon the 
sun shone very bright and hot; yes, hot! and in the frigid 
zone. The thermometer undoubtedly would have regis- 
tered one hundred degrees, if I had had one to hang in the 
shady part of my craft. Three of the boats were far in 
advance, as they had floated all night. The wind was 
blowing stiff and strong from the southwest ; it struck me 
fair, and was fast propelling me on to a sandbar. I pulled 
for my life ! It was impossible at first to j)erceive any re- 
sponse to my desperate efforts. Finally, however, the 
boat yielded to my exertions, and in another hour was 
floating down the river northward again. At this junc- 
ture I lost all consciousness, and when reason returned I 
found my boat lodged near the north end of a long island. 
I had over-exerted myself, and the result was a slight 
sunstroke. Realizing in some way what had happened, I 
managed to get hold of a towel, and with it applied water 
to my head. I recovered sufficiently to enable me to 
think, although my brain was in a measure paralyzed. I 
found my valise, and tried to get at my medicines, among 
which was camphor. My mind was not lucid enough to 
distinguish it from anything else, so I must have substi- 
tuted Jamaica ginger for what I really wanted, for when 
fully recovered I found my camphor-bottle tied up just 
as it came from the drug-store : the ginger had evidently 
been opened and a tablespoonful used. 

" I soon became aware of the fact that if the other boat 
passed me on the opposite side of the island I would be in 
a dilemma, so I pushed off and managed to land again at 
the end of the island, where I tied up and awaited results. 
Had the other boat passed, or not ? was a problem that 
worried me very much. I laid down under some bushes, 
and patiently watched for an hour at least. Finally, 
around the bend on the opposite side from where I had 
lodged first, I saw the boat coming; I cut loose and 
drifted into the stream, and as the craft came near I 
asked permission to tie to it, Avhich privilege was most 



WEATHER IN THE FAR NORTH 297 

graciously granted. Soon I was almost insensible, but 
toward night regained strength and reasoning faculties. 
We camped for the night. 

" On Tuesday I was al)le to paddle my own boat. The 
wind shifted more to the westward, and blew a gale. My 
course was almost northeastwardly until reaching Lake 
Athabaska. I converted one of my tarpaulins into a sail, 
which sent me flying at the rate of ten miles an hour. At 
eleven o'clock in the morning I found myself high on a 
sandbar. The only way to avoid it was to jump into the 
water and ' boost ' the boat off, which was not a very 
pleasant job, as the day was cold. At one o'clock the 
lake appeared, and almost before I knew it I was forging 
through its great waves, which rolled like those of the 
Atlantic ocean. Had it not been for the warning of the 
crew just ahead, in another moment I would have rushed 
beyond the limit of safety; but b}^ pulling desperately 
swung my boat into an inlet to the left, when, by wading 
in mud and water to my shoulders, I at last anchored to 
the shore of a small island, on which I built a fire among 
the driftwood. I now changed clothing, and felt more 
comfortable. It seemed the coldest day I had ever ex- 
perienced, as a cold, sleety rain was falling. 

" Let me interpolate right here, that I left my home in 
Perry, Oklahoma, in a rain-storm, and since then not a 
day had passed, up to this time, without a downpour. 

" It is impossible to row on Lake Athabaska, excepting 
in a calm. I floated along the shore through the reeds 
and rushes, made one more camp directly opposite the 
post of Chippewayan, and the next day again entered the 
lake; but on account of the prevailing high winds was 
unable to use my oars, and my bark was so tossed on its 
waves that I was obliged to again tie up. 

" The region is a perfect paradise for waterfowl ; ducks 
were constantly in sight, accompanied by their young, 
feeding on the a))undance of snails and Inilbs found in 
X^rofusion. Many Iijidians live in the Athabaska lake re- 



298 FORTY YEAR8 OF ADVENTURES 

gion ; they depend for subsistence chiefly on fishing and 
hunting. 

" In the .evening I rowed up a bayou to the forks of the 
river, and down another stream, in order to get as near 
the fort as possible. At eleven o'clock that night I went 
into camp seven miles south of Fort Chippewayan, the 
wund blowing furiously. At three in the morning I 
awoke, discovered that the wind had ceased, and was 
soon off for the fort. I had not proceeded more than a 
mile before a breeze began to rise, and by the time I had 
gone three miles it struck squarely against the bow of my 
Ijoat. It was too late to retreat; the only thing to do 
was to continue across. I threw myself with all force on 
the oars, and pulled till ten o'clock, when I arrived at an 
island about one mile distant from the fort. I was so ex- 
hausted from my efforts that I could go no farther, but 
after a cup of coffee and plenty of whitefish, pulled over 
to the fort, where all the Indian boys and girls of the 
village had congregated to see ' Buffalo Jones,' the man 
who had rowed a flatl3oat across the lake alone. 

"At the village of Chippewayan the Catholic Church 
has established a mission, as has also the Church of Eng- 
land. Both have schools for the children, and fine gar- 
dens in which are grown every variety of vegetal:)les 
common to that far-away northern country. Potatoes 
do exceedingly well, and wheat sometimes ripens as far 
north as this; the best bushel exhibited at Philadelphia 
in 1876 was grown at this place. 

"Athal:)aska lake is seven miles wide at the mouth of 
Athabaska river, which flows into the lake on its south 
side. The lake is 240 miles long and about sixty miles 
wide. There are no dwellings on its south shore, as it is 
one vast marsh, once evidently part of the lake, but is 
gradually filled in by the immense amount of sediment 
washed down from the mountains and the great fertile 
plains through which the stream flows. Some day the 
lake will be no more. It is said that the wind never 



ONE OF THE INDIANS KEPENT8 299 

ceases blowing on this vast sheet of water, and the stories 
of many disasters are current among the inhabitants. 
They say, also, that many boats have been driven out to 
sea by the heavy west and northwest winds, never to re- 
turn. 

"Here I overtook the four Indians who broke their con- 
tract to carry me to Fort Smith. They had preceded me 
about two hours. One of them, John Tindell, thoroughly 
repented of the mistreatment I had received, and told me 
that if I would allow him to take his goods into my boat 
the other fellows might go on alone (as he was only their 
interpreter) , and he would help me through to Fort Smith. 
I did not hesitate very long, and we soon loaded six hun- 
dred pounds of flour and other supplies that he had jour- 
neyed eight hundred miles to procure for winter use, and 
started for the river that rises four miles west of the vil- 
lage. The wind was blowing furiously against us, and we 
drifted to the southwest. I took out my map and asked 
Tindell why we should not take the channel that puts out 
at the southwest corner of the lake and runs both ways, 
to Peace river and from Peace river to the lake, according 
to the height of the stream.^ 'All right,' he replied, and 
we shot through the great rolling waves of the lake, missed 
the channel that leads to the river, and were blown high 
on to a sandbar. We managed to retreat and get into the 
channel, but found the water flowing to the lake very 
slowly. As the wind was partly in our favor, we put up 
our sail and went up to where the stream crosses an- 
other, — a curious phenomenon, two rivers crossing each 
other; perhaps it is the only place in the world where 

' This may appear somewhat contradictory. The explanation is this : The direction 
of the water varies according to the volume of water in Peace river, and the direction 
of the wind on the lake ; i.e., when the Peace river is swollen from freshets, its water 
Is forced through a small river about forty miles long into the lake ; but should there 
be a strong east wind, the water of the lake would be forced up in the west end and the 
water would run Into the Peace river. Again, when the river is low the water of the 
lake always flows into the river, except when there is a strong west wind that forces 
the water of the lake to the east end ; then the water of the river empties into the lake. 
St about half of the time the water In the short river runs in one direction, and half 
in the other. 



300 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

such a thing occurs. When we reached the other stream 
we found it was flowing slowly toward Peace river ; so we 
went westward again thirty miles, and at sunset on the 
1st of August entered the waters of the Peace. 

"I was very much surprised at its width — so much 
greater than I expected; it was fully a mile across, and, 
as far as I could see to the west, of the same breadth. 
We swung to the north and floated toward the Slave river, 
which is thirty miles below, and where the Peace intersects 
the main river out of Lake Athabaska. The wind had 
been against us all day, and I was very much fatigued. I 
told Tindell to keep watch and I would sleep, part of the 
night ; so I threw myself on some sacks of flour and was 
soon dreaming I was at my old occupation of holding 
down the Legislature of Oklahoma, as sergeant-at-arms. 
When I awoke, the boat was in an eddy just above a sharp 
fall over boulders, and Tindell was rolled in his blanket 
fast asleep. I quickly grabbed the oars and shouted to 
him to guide the boat, and we were soon safely past this 
dangerous place. 

' ' The 2d of August was the first whole day without rain 
since I had left Oklahoma, nearly two months previously. 
The wind was in our favor most of the time, and by hoist- 
ing sail we made rapid progress. 

"We soon reached the great falls of the Slave river, 
where we hauled the boat and cargo on the shore to avoid 
sixteen miles of dangerous rapids, which cannot be suc- 
cessfully passed. The Hudson Bay Company has oxen at 
this place to portage its goods around these, the last falls 
to be encountered. I had only about fifteen hundred 
miles farther to go, and I felt encouraged in the refiec- 
tion that my journey would soon be at an end, 

" It was August 3 that I landed here (Smith's Land- 
ing ), a Hudson Bay post, half-way between Forts Chippe- 
wayan and Resolution, where I was invited to a council of 
' great chiefs. ' An interpreter told me with great solemnity 
that these men had come a long way to meet me. They 



COUNCIL OF THE ''GREAT CHIEFS" 301 

had heard of my advent into the country, and warned 
me not to take any animals out alive ; they were nearly 
starved to death already, and if I took musk-oxen away 
all other animals would follow and the people surely per- 
ish. I listened attentively until they had finished; then 
I told them that I had come three thousand miles, not to 
destroy, but to preserve the very animals they had l^een 
killing for their subsistence. That they must learn to 
foster and propagate them or they certainly would perish 
of hunger. That they must do away with their foolish 
superstitions ; make fences, cut hay, capture the moose, 
reindeer, musk-ox, buffalo, and other animals ; keep them 
where they could always have thein for meat when the 
winter winds w^iistled around and snow covered the earth. 
All of this was repeated to them by their interpreter, to 
whom they attentively listened, and agreed to take it un- 
der advisement. 

' ' I intended to keep right on to the habitat of the 
musk-ox. I did not expect to violate any statutes of the 
Northwest Territory, and as long as I had the law on my 
side, felt that I should succeed. Of course I expected to 
encounter many difficulties in bringing the animals out 
alive, but had no idea of abandoning the project. The 
Indians I met belonged to three tribes : the Chippe- 
wayans, Crees, and Slaves. I expected to have some red- 
hot times even in that cold country, and hoped to return 
to the United States by the first of December of that year, 
unless prevented by the red devils that were already show- 
ing such a defiant spirit." 



CHAPTER XIX 

BOUND NORTHWARD 

INDIANS ORDEE HIM TO RETURN — REACHES GREAT SLAVE 

LAKE TOSSED AT MIDNIGHT BY AN ANGRY TEMPEST 

FINDS RUINS OF SEARCHING PARTY, FORT RELIANCE IN- 
DIANS CONGREGATE- FROM EVERY QUARTER TREACHERY 

OF "big INDIAN" SIENA 

I REMAINED a week at Fort Smith, waiting upon the 
humor of the Indians to assist me in going around 
the rapids, which are sixteen miles long. The Indians 
alone are depended upon to make the terribly excit- 
ing and dangerous passage of the river. It is as much as 
a white man can endure to traverse swamps and climb 
the apparently interminable hills and battle with the 
swarms of persistently voracious mosquitos, saying noth- 
ing of attempting to " shoot" the rapids. 

The ways of the red men of the North are as dark and 
mysterious as are those of their brethren farther south. 
The Indians I had employed to assist in making the port- 
age with my boat and goods were six days on their way 
across the portage, and on the first day only did they even 
show a disposition to accomplish what they had promised. 
Then I was coolly informed that they would not carry any 
more goods across, because they had learned my mission 
was to take live animals out of their country. In fact, 
they impudently told me to pack up my traps and row 
south again. I firmly informed them that I would take 
my goods and myself where I pleased, and would go north 

( 302 ) 




THE BIG INDIANS" THAT WARNED ME NOT TO 
CAPTURE WILD ANIMALS. 




HUDSON BAY CO.'S BOAT GRAHAM, ON THE MACKENZIE RIVER 
AND GREAT SLAVE LAKE, 



CONCERNING FROSTS 803 

in spite of their protests. At last they appeared to un- 
derstand that I was not to be intimidated by any of their 
threats, and they let me alone. 

On the 10th of August I associated with me Mr. William 
Armstrong and J. R. Rea, two of the most determined 
and successful pioneers m the whole northern region. I 
also sent for Mr. David Van Nest, of Oklahoma, who had 
promised to join me if his services were required. I had 
made up my mind that if four white men were not al)le 
to control matters connected with our little expedition, 
I did not intend to call in requisition the aid of any of 
the Indians to help us out. 

It was my purpose to remain there for a few days, then 
proceed to Fort Resolutioii, on the Great Slave lake, 
thence three hundred miles northeast, where our camp was 
to l)e established. I expected to reach the latter point by 
the 10th of September, and on the first of the following 
month hoped to start homeward. Should the musk-oxen 
be found too far away for us to return by the 20th of Oc- 
tober, the lake would doubtless be frozen over and pre- 
clude our passage on the return trip by open water. I 
intended to send news to Fort Resolution by a shepherd 
dog, to be forwarded to Edmonton l)y a dog train, which 
leaves there in midwinter for the latter place, more than 
a thousand miles distant. I had not heard a word from 
the United States since the 24th of June, and did not ex- 
pect to until my return from the " Barren Lands " to Fort 
Resolution. 

Probaljly the people of the United States entertain the 
same idea which I did concerning this remote region, viz., 
that the farther north one travels, the colder the tem- 
perature becomes, both in summer and winter. This is 
not the case. Frost does not make its appearance at Fort 
Smith after the first of June, or until alxnit the middle 
of September; while at Winnipeg, on the North Pacific 
Railroad, I have seen heavy frosts as late as June 26th 
and as early as September 10th. Many will doubtless be 



304 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

surprised at this, but tlie cause is very simple : here, there 
is no night worthy of the name, from May 15th to Sep- 
tember 15th. The sun does not disappear excepting for a 
very few hours each day, so that during its absence the 
atmosphere has hardly time to cool off by radiation be- 
fore " Old Sol " reappears above the horizon to reheat the 
earth and repel the frost that would certainly come were 
it not for this provision, A thousand or more miles south 
of here the case is different: there, the long nights permit 
an almost complete radiation of the heat many hours be- 
fore the sun makes its appearance again, and frost is the 
consequence. Besides, the relatively short days do not 
permit the earth to become thoroughly heated before 
night is on again. 

I found some of the finest gardens in those high lati- 
tudes that I have ever seen ; vegetable life appeared to be 
present everywhere in midsummer. Potatoes, beets, tur- 
nips, peas, and cabbages, and many other kinds of edi- 
ble roots and succulent plants, reach perfection. Many 
varieties of berries common to the United States, to- 
gether with red and black currants and the dry-land 
cranberry, reach a stage of lusciousness unexcelled else- 
where. I found a red-currant bush on an island in the 
Great Slave lake loaded with fruit, every berry of wJiich 
was as large as a cherr3\ I procured a dozen cuttings, 
and hoped to propagate some of the "Barren Lands'" 
productions at home. The reason for this seemingly 
paradoxical condition of vegetation is easily accounted 
for. There the sun shines almost continuously for many 
days, and although the seasons are very short, the pro- 
longed light and frequency of showers induce as perfect 
results as it is possible for nature to eft'ect. During the 
winter months the weather reaches the extreme of cold, 
which is intense, with but little variation of temperature. 

The absence of bugs and most other insects, which fur- 
ther south, in their season attack everything in the way of 
vegetation, is one of the notable features of that region. 



INHABITANTS OF THE SLAVE RIVER COUNTRY 305 

Reptiles are unheard of ; but the gnat and mosquito are 
monarchs, though their reign is of short duration. 

The inhabitants of the Slave river country are all In- 
dians, with the exception of a few traders who venture 
out there to collect furs from the natives. Their princi- 
pal food is game and fish ; very few ever accumulate an 
amount of furs sufficient to permit them to indulge in 
the luxury of a sack of flour, worth from fifteen to 
twenty-five cents a pound. The men are the most con- 
summate and artful beggars in existence ; and when they 
fail to accomplish their ends they send their squaws to 
try their luck. If they are unsuccessful, the little chil- 
dren are forced into the service. Often small girls only 
ten to fourteen years old would come into our camp, and 
remain for hours, even far into the night, unless they re- 
ceived a morsel to eat, or were driven away. They did 
not speak a word, but watched every movement, and if 
very, very hungry would crowd nearer the fire where the 
cooking was in process, and if given a scrap to eat would 
leave only to return the next morning, continuing their 
visits as long as we remained in that locality. I am told 
that the problem of food is getting more desperate each 
returning season. The Government makes no provision 
for their support, as no treaty has ever been made. 
Surely, the future of the northern red man is deplorable 
to contemplate. 

At sunset on the 18th of August I took leave of Fort 
Smith, which is situated at the north end of the great 
falls, about sixteen miles north of Smith's Landing. It 
must be remembered that in referring to places I visited as 
' forts,' they are not in any sense apposite to the term ; no 
troops have ever been sent into that desolate region, 
hence, the so-called forts have never been garrisoned. 
They are merely trading-posts of the fur companies. My 
embarkation was a gloomy one ; the clouds hung black 
and dismal over the limited area of vision, for high em- 
bankments lay in every direction. Scarcely had I pulled 
20 — 



^06 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

to the center of the great river when the rain commenced 
to fall in torrents, and a terrible darkness overshadowed 
everything, and I was compelled to row to the shore, wet 
through and chilled to the bone. 

Oh, how dreary and desolate the traveler's camp in a 
-cold storm, isolated from all sounds excepting that of 
his own voice and the continuous dropping of the rain ! 
By spreading a tent to protect my goods and crawling un- 
der a part of it, I managed to sleep until daybreak. What 
a blessing it is that one can sleep under such circum- 
stances, forgetting all his troubles ; perchance to dream 
of happy days, vanished forever ! On awakening, his cares 
are multiplied, the dream having increased them by the 
•disappointment of its reality. 

On the 17th of August I caught a first glimpse of the 
Great Slave lake. There I met an old half-breed, from 
whom I learned that many years ago the Cree Indians of 
the south had come to this far-away country, captured 
the natives, and carried them back to their own villages, 
where they were doomed to a hopeless bondage of slavery. 
The raids of the southern tribes were of such frequent 
occurrence and so successful in results, that the name 
" Slaves " became the appellation of the northern tribes, 
and from them the lake and the river, were given their 
names by the first white men who entered the region. 

I was compelled to leave my boat at Smith's Landing, 
as I could not induce any of the Indians to assist me in 
making the portage, I borrowed a boat below the rapids, 
of a trader at Fort Resolution, and came through with it, 
I might have been obliged to remain there all winter, had 
I not met some kind white man who showed me the mercy 
which the Indians denied, as they had a grievance against 
me. I found on arriving at Fort Resolution that the In- 
dians had sent a letter on ahead of me by their runners, 
commanding their people not to assist me in any way. 

I was compelled to build a boat suitable for traversing 
the dangerous and turbulent waters of the lake, and had 



OPPOSED BY THE INDIANS 307 

only the assistance of my friend Mr. Rea, and of a half- 
breed Indian who bade defiance to the traditions of his 
tribe and the dictation of the headmen. There was no 
large timber in the vicinity, and the only resource was 
the driftwood. We were obliged to follow the shore for 
many miles before any logs were found suitable for our 
purpose. Then we had to raft them to our camp and saw 
them up by hand, to get lumber to construct the boat. 
All this took valuable time, and before the boat was ready 
for launching the weather was growing colder and more 
disagreeable. 

There are no people north of Edmonton that one can 
employ, excepting the Indians. I had engaged numbers 
of them to assist on my journey and in building boats, 
but invariably every one broke his promise, and refused 
to continue even for double the wages ordinarily paid. 
For that reason I made up my mind that Indians would 
not work. When I arrived here, the mystery was solved. 
It appeared there had been mysterious messengers sent 
ahead, and after me, from Edmonton, who carried orders 
warning all Indians of the purpose of my mission ; and 
ordering them to refuse me any assistance whatever, and 
to place all the obstacles in my way possible, even to kill- 
ing the animals I might capture, rather than permit them 
to leave the country. 

What surprised me more than anything else was that 
some of the Hudson Bay Company's officials prompted 
the savages to take the action which they did, particu- 
larly Dr. McKey, of Chippewayan. He came out boldly, 
and advised the Indians in my presence not to give me 
assistance in any form ; and when he saw they could not 
turn me back, he took it upon himself to read me, from a 
volume of statutes, the law in relation to killing game in 
the Northwest Territory, notifying me that if I violated it 
he would "prosecute me to the bitter end." He said he 
had called his people together to take the subject of my 
intentions under consideration, and that they were very 



308 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

indignant, etc. To be sure, I did not kill any game, and 
the Doctor was not smart enough to follow me to find out 
whether I did. I learned he had an Indian woman for a 
wife or mistress ; had a houseful of half-breed children to 
look after, and I jDresume these facts, as well as his being 
a hireling of the Hudson Bay Company, prevented him 
from keeping an eye on me. 

A letter had also been sent ahead of me to the high 
priests and big chiefs, bearing the commands I have re- 
ferred to. I tried hard to get a photograph of the letter, 
but the Hudson Bay Company's interpreter at Fort Reso- 
lution, who had it in his charge, declared he had lost it, 
which I knew to he a subterfuge to prevent me from pho- 
tographing it. The document was one mass of hiero- 
glyphics and characters, readable only by the natives. 

I had only one hope of success, and that was the aid of 
Messrs. Armstrong, Rea, and Van Nest. They agreed to 
stay with me until we were successful, if it required ten 
years. I was told all along the route by Hudson Bay 
Company traders that I would never take a musk-ox out 
of the northern country, and that I was only wasting my 
time to attempt it, for the Indians would never help me 
in the least. More than that, if I did get any, the In- 
dians would kill them rather than permit them to go out 
of the country alive. I now believe and realize the fact 
that some of these traders knew of the consj)iracy and the 
letters that had been sent in advance of my coming. 

A.S a rule, I found most of the white men of the north- 
ern country were very hospitable and kindly disposed ; 
particularly so was Mr. James McKinley, of Fort Smith. 
He has charge of the Hudson Bay Company's headquar- 
ters there, and superintends the transportation of their 
goods across the portage. Their freight is hauled on two- 
wheeled ox-carts. The oxen are wintered in sheds, with 
an abundance of choice hay for forage, cut near that 
place. I desire to mention among the employes of the 
Company those who were very courteous to me and as- 



CUERENCY AT FORT REBOLUTION 309 

sisted me in many little ways, Mr. Gaudet and Mr. Cam- 
sell. Ed. Nagle, of Fort Resolution, is a free trader on 
his own responsibility. He is a gentleman in the strict- 
est meaning of the term. His wife is the only white lady 
in that region. 

When September arrived the nights were chilly, and 
when the rain was not pouring down it was generally 
frosty and cold. Money is no inducement to people in 
this region ; they do not know what a dollar or a shil- 
ling is. I have often heard political speakers assert from 
the stump that they wanted "a dollar good the world 
over." I am certain they were never out of the United 
States, especially never in the land of the aurora borealis. 
All the gold or silver dollars in the world would not have 
purchased nails enough to build my boat, for the nails 
were not to be had there. Even if there were plenty, the 
Indians would not trade them for coin, as their unit of 
value is a " skin." 

A skin was originally a beaver-skin, and all values were 
based on it. A beaver-skin at present is worth "twelve 
skins," a marten is worth "five skins," etc. They do 
not even have greenbacks, gold, silver or copper to repre- 
sent their unit of value. It is worse than any fiat money 
ever advocated, as its basis is only imaginary; still, it 
serves all demands. 

Fortunately, I had brought with me about fifteen 
pounds of assorted nails, and they were of more value in 
boat-building than all the gold or silver I could have car- 
ried. 

On the 6th of September my boat was completed. The 
little yacht Avas a ' daisy ' ; twenty-two feet long and six 
feet beam. The wind and rain were strong from the east. 
Northeast was our course, yet we were obliged to go five 
miles westward to round a point that incloses a bay. 
What an experience we had after leaving Fort Resolution 
on the 6th ! I had often been told of the perils and haz- 
ards of the "Great Spirit lake"; that it was the most 



SIO FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTUEEB 

treacherous of all waters ; that the storms rose when least 
expected ; the waves so short and choppy that no boat 
could be constructed that would withstand the tem- 
pests, and many were the bones of human skeletons that 
strewed the bottom, where bottom was to be found; that 
in numerous places no bottom had ever been discovered, — 
which is no doubt true, as we had no line sufficiently long 
to fathom it. 

On the 8th of September came a howling blizzard from 
the north, but we were in a good harbor, and suffered but 
little from the raging storm. On the morning of the 
next day the wind shifted to the west, exactly in our fa- 
vor, and we sailed eastward to the "Point of Rocks," 
where it again veered to the southeast. Here we were 
compelled to sail northeast to an island fifteen miles 
away. The wind was blowing a perfect gale, but the In- 
dians who accompanied us agreed to make the venture, 
and at four o'clock we set sail. After going about five 
miles the wind shifted due east, which was almost a head- 
wind to where we were going. Then the heavens began to 
roll and tumble ; the waves commenced to emulate them, 
while the gale increased in fierceness, piling the billows 
up in great black masses. Then came a tempest of wind 
with increased velocity, heaping them higher and higher, 
until they seemed to reach the low black clouds aljove 
them. What a night it was! In the stern sat " Old 
Siena" (the Indian had passed the allotted threescore 
and ten), guiding our frail bark, as the mighty waves 
tossed us about like a straw. The old fellow would occa- 
sionally emit a groan, which seemed as if it might be his 
last; at times I could not see his form, crouched down 
under the inky blackness surrounding us. All the others 
could do was to bail water as rapidly as possible, and by 
herculean exertions we managed to keep our craft afloat 
on the angry surf. 

Hour after hour slowly — oh, how slowly! — passed 
away; where we were, no one could tell. None of the 



TOSSED BY THE STORM ON GREAT SLAVE LAKE 311 

Indians could speak a word of English, much less could I 
speak a word of theirs, — the language of the "Yellow 
Knife" tribe. 

Mr. Rea and an Indian in another boat, of the same 
dimensions as mine, started at the same time we did, with 
an agreement that we were to keep as near each other as 
possible, thus making the risk of life much less than if we 
were far separated. They had been driven from us, or we 
from them, l)ut which, no one could tell ; there were, how- 
ever, never two more helpless crafts tossed hither and 
thither on the dark deep sea. It was long after the mid- 
night hour as we still struggled with nature's most dan- 
gerous elements, wind and water, when suddenly appeared, 
a little to the right, a black object. I shouted to the old 
savage in the stern, and pointed toward it. He spoke to 
the young Indian, in the bow, and he responded, "An- 
noe 1 " I had no idea what " annoe " meant, but from the 
joyous tones of the young savage's voice, I felt certain 
that it must be land. Unfortunately, the wind was blow- 
ing directly from it, which made it impossible for us to 
land. I made signs to turn and tack, so as to make it if 
possible, but the old fellow shook his head and yelled to 
his companion, and immediatel}^ a most exciting colloquy 
occurred between them, which made me feel uncomfort- 
able indeed, for I really thought we had missed the island 
and were drifting to sea. Finally the old savage bore 
heavily down on the long sweep he used as a rudder, and 
we changed our course more to the left, and sped on more 
swiftly through the foaming surf, with the wind bearing 
harder on our broad sail than before, and in a moment 
we were in the trough of the terrible sea, the huge waves 
striking the boat sideways. Then of all the rolling and 
pitching I had ever experienced (and I have twice crossed 
the Atlantic, sailed on the Gulf of Mexico, and all the 
great lakes), it was that hour in our harassing position 
that night, or rather, morning. 

Again our young Indian yelled out, "Annoe I annoe I " 



812 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

(island). Just ahead I saw a dim, dark object. Imag- 
ine the sensation that came over me ; the chills traversed 
up and down my spinal column ; I trembled between hope 
and despair. It was only for a moment, happily, as my 
pilot swung the boat still more to the left, so as to make 
the leeward side of the island. I could clearly see the 
trees waving before the maddened tempest, and hope pre- 
dominated ; fear was left behind, for in a few moments 
we were brought into one of the prettiest little harbors I 
ever saw, with mountains of moss-covered rocks on all 
sides. 

Where was Mr. Rea ? We fired guns and carried torches 
to the highest peaks, but there was no responsive signal. 
A bright beacon-fire was kept burning at the apex of the 
loftiest mountain we could ascend. Then we rolled our- 
selves in our blankets, wet, cold, and disturbed in mind, 
— at least I was, for the safety of my companion. I was 
soon asleep, and enjoyed that rest we all so much needed 
after our adventurous and dangerous voyage. 

At the first streak of dawn the beacon-fire was again 
kindled, to make smoke, and our guns discharged, but 
there was no response excepting the reverberating echoes. 
About eight o'clock, however, the young Indian pointed 
to an island several miles distant to the northeast, and 
exclaimed, "Con!" (fire). I could plainly see a streak 
of blue smoke ascending from among the little peaks, and 
by the aid of my field-glasses could easily discern the 
mainmast of a boat. This was indeed joy for me ; break- 
fast was hurriedly prepared and disposed of, and as the 
wind had completely subsided, we soon were plying the 
oars, and after a long pull, joined our comrades, who were 
without bread or meat, as the provisions had all been 
loaded into my boat. When we reached them, mutual 
congratulations were had on our fortunate escape from 
watery deaths, and we all indulged in a social cup of tea, 
exchanging experiences regarding one of the most terrible 
nights that had ever fallen to our lot. 



TREACHERY OF OLD BIENA 313 

The old chief and two young Indians had been em- 
ployed by Mr. Rea to pilot him to Fort Reliance, before 
it was known that I was to accompany him. There they 
were to take him on a musk-ox hunt in October, and had 
the contract made in writing, and witnessed at Fort Res- 
olution. True, the old chief did not sign it, for the simple 
reason that he could not write ; yet its terms were acqui- 
esced in verbally. But when he discovered I was to be 
one of the party, and that I was to get musk-oxen alive, 
he was horrified ; and when we arrived at Fort Reliance 
and demanded to be piloted to the place where the herd 
of coveted oxen were to be found, he al)solutely refused to 
move a step further under any consideration. We ex- 
plained to the other Indians, as best we could, the stipu- 
lations of the contract, and in his presence denounced 
him in the bitterest terms to be found in their language. 

On the 22d of September we arrived at Fort Reliance, 
having made three hundred miles since leaving Fort Reso- 
lution. The prevailing wind during our voyage had l^een 
from the northeast, and on the 9th of September and up 
to the 21st we had it directly ahead, or no wind at all. 
Oars were our only propelling power, and we consequently 
made slow j)rogress, especially against the furious wind 
and a heavy sea. 

About three o'clock in the morning of the 21st, a brisk 
iDreeze came from the west, and we rolled out of our 
blankets, hoisted our sails, and went flying through the 
foaming water. We were then within forty miles of our 
destination ( Fort Reliance), but as the sun rose higher in 
the heavens the wind abated, and again we were left to 
our only resource, "i^addling our own canoe," and obliged 
to cross a large bay fifteen miles in width. At sundown 
we reached the opposite shore, all tired out. 

After we had partaken of our evening meal we fully ex- 
pected to lie down and indulge in a good rest. The In- 
dians had been firing their guns all the afternoon ; it is a 
common custom among them, when approaching a village 



814 FOETY YEAES OF ADVENTUEES 

after they have been absent for a time, to fire a salute as 
soon as within hearing distance. The longer they have 
been gone, the more salutes are given. Also, if they have 
been successful on their hunt the number of salutes is in- 
creased accordingly. The Indians told us they would row 
us to Fort Reliance, fifteen miles ahead, if we would per- 
mit it, and that we might sleep in the boats. We decided 
to allow them their own way for once. 

Being very tired, we were soon fast asleep, but were 
suddenly aroused by the report of a gun a little distance 
ahead. On looking up, "Old Siena" and young Pierre 
were tumbling over each other after something, for a 
moment I could not tell what. In another moment Pierre 
had my Winchester and was sending shot after shot 
straight into the air, while the old chief had my double- 
barreled shotgun and was going through the same per- 
formance. It was my favorite breech-loader, and he was 
running the shells into it as fast as possible, while the 
younger one was emptying the magazine of my Winches- 
ter, and was in the act of reaching over for a bag of cart- 
ridges to dispose of them in the same manner. I grabbed 
hold of it first, and that put an end to their fun for that 
night. All this time there was a continual blaze of 
flashes from the guns on the shore, and also from those 
in the flotilla of birch-bark canoes just ahead of us. 
It was a wild-looking scene. It did not take them long 
to get to our boats, and then we must shake hands with 
the whole lot. Old Siena said, "La teal la tea! "and 
all of us understood what that meant. He was going 
ashore and give his hungry friends a great feast of tea and 
"molar metsou " (white man's dinner), but Mr. Rea 
and I concluded that as we had just finished a hearty sup- 
per it would last us until midnight, at least. Mr. Rea 
shouted to Old Siena as he was swinging my boat to shore, 
"Ela!" (no). By signals and what few words of the 
Slave language we could command, we notified the chief 
that we must either go on until midnight, or no " la tea." 



ARRIVAL AT FORT RELIANCE 315 

This was cold comfort for the Indians, who had been 
without tea for months, and perhaps years without tast- 
ing bread. We were well satisfied that the whole tribe 
expected to feast off our supplies as long as they held out. 
The Indians all laid down their oars, and our barks 
drifted before a stiff' easterly gale in the direction whence 
they had come. Finally, Mr. Ilea made the old chief 
understand that when we should reach a point five miles 
away, that we had noticed before dark, we would have 
"la tea." Upon this gratifying intelligence the oars 
were quickly put in motion again ; one large canoe shot 
off ahead, and before our boats were half-way to the ol> 
jective point, a brilliant fire was burning there. It was 
nearly midnight when we arrived. A quantity of tea, 
flour, some bacon and tobacco were handed out to the In- 
dians. We then rolled up in our blankets and slept in 
our boats until daylight. When we awoke, the whole 
group of Indians were seated around the fire, drinking tea 
and smoking their pipes. They had not slept a moment 
during the whole night; it was the greatest "hurrah" 
they ever had. 

On the 22d we pulled about four miles farther to the 
northeast, and landed at Fort Reliance at 9 o'clock a. m. 
On our arrival, there came swarms of Indians from every 
point of the compass, for several days, but we shut off' on 
all their begging, excepting to give them some tea, enough 
for one meal only. They appeared very much disap- 
pointed. Doubtless they had expected to spend several 
weeks with us, helping to enjoy our winter supply of pro- 
visions. 

Fort Reliance is not and never was a fort in the com- 
monly accepted definition of the term. It is where Capt. 
Geo. Back, of the Royal Navy, passed the winter of 1833-4, 
sixty-five years ago. Capt. Back was Sir John Franklin's 
most trusted friend, and on his first expedition to the 
Arctic regions, through most heroic efforts, relief reached 
Franklin and the few survivors of his party, at Fort En- 



316 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

terprise, during the winter of 1820. Fort Reliance was 
built many years after the last-mentioned date, while 
Capt. Back was in search of Capt. John Ross, who had al- 
most been given up as lost in the eternal ice of the Arctic 
Circle. A little history of the relief expedition will not 
be out of place here : 

" Owing to the long absence of Capt. Ross, of the Vic- 
toria, in the northern seas, a relief and exploring ex- 
pedition was organized under command of Capt. Back, 
intending to reach the north coast of America by descend- 
ing the Great Fish river. This was supposed to flow in a 
northeast direction, and reach the sea at no great dis- 
tance from the longitude in which Perry's ship ' Fury ' 
had been abandoned in 1824. It was known that Ross 
would endeavor to reach this spot and take some of the 
store of provisions piled up on the beach. Capt. Back, 
therefore, in 1833 reached the Great Slave lake, and ad- 
vanced by Aylmer lake to Clinton Golden lake, and 
made an examination of the headwaters of the Fish river. 
Then he returned to the wooded country by way of Artil- 
lery lake to winter. At the eastern end of the Great 
Slave lake he built his winter quarters, and called the 
place Fort Reliance. 

" Early in the spring a start was made, and during the 
summer he successfully descended the river to the sea, 
and by fall had returned to his former winter quarters, 
where he passed the winter of 1834, and then returned to 
England." 

The old quarters were of great interest from a historical 
point of view. Capt. Back chose this spot on account of 
the abundance of wood in the vicinity for the construc- 
tion of his cabins and for fuel. It will be remembered 
that Capt. Back passed through Hudson bay, up the Sas- 
katchewan river, and down the Athabaska and Slave 
rivers to Fort Resolution and Clinton Golden lake and 




.„^«f^K. ^- 



EUINS OF CAPTAIN BACk'b CABIxNS 817 

back to Fort Reliance, during the summer of 1833. He 
returned from Clinton Golden lake by way of Artillery 
lake, the same route which we followed when in pursuit 
of musk-oxen. In his report to the Admiralty he said : 

"At Cat, or Artillery lake, we abandoned our canoe and 
performed the rest of our journey on foot, over precipitous 
rocks, through frightful gorges and ravines, heaped with 
masses of granite, and narrow ledges where a false step 
would have been fatal." 

The buildings the gallant captain constructed were of 
logs, but they were long since destroyed by fire, and the 
only relics of the once substantial cabins are the stone 
chimneys, by the fire of which those early explorers kept 
themselves from freezing, and experienced those hardships 
which are now a part of the history of the search for the 
Northwest passage. There are four of these remains of 
chimneys, and the only marks by which one can distin- 
guish the outlines of the cabins are the moss-covered ridges 
that mark their place. The chimneys were of gigantic 
dimensions, measuring five by eight feet at their base; 
two still standing, whose tops are fourteen feet from the 
ground, show their height. The mortar employed in their 
construction was clay, without any admixture of lime, 
but its place substituted by sand. The clay had to be 
conveyed in boats from a point four miles up the river. 
The Indians knew where it came from, and showed us the 
spot ; it appears to be the only clay in all that barren re- 
gion. Grass had been worked into the mortar, after the 
Mexican method of making their sunburnt bricks or 
adobes, or such as the children of Israel used excepting 
when Pharaoh denied them the straw. The mortar seems 
to be as good to-day as when first used. The cabins, judg- 
ing from the charred remains of portions of a bottom log, 
had been destroyed by fire, and they were so well pre- 
served that I extracted a stick about a foot long from 
one, which was reasonaljly sound. 



318 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

We found several articles in digging among the ruins, 
among them a file, and a portion of tlie liead of a keg. 
They were discovered near tlie cliimney, covered by aslies 
which probably saved them from that disintegration which 
marks everything else belonging to the hardy explorers- 
The piece of keg referred to evidently once held some 
alcoholic stimulants ; for in the early days of Arctic ex- 
ploration, existence in that frozen region was deemed im- 
possible without it. Now, happily, that theory, like many 
others, has been exploded. We neither took with us, nor 
touched a drop of spirits during our long and adventurous 
journey into the far North ; never deeming it at all requi- 
site, — despite the intensity of the cold, darkness, and 
continual disagreeable weather. No doubt many former 
explorers would have been better off, had they done as 
we did. 

These ruins are situated at the extreme northeast end 
of Great Slave lake, at the mouth of a stream which 
drains Artillery lake. Pines and birches have sprung up 
all around the historic spot, which gives the place the 
semblance of a beautiful but abandoned park. I suc- 
ceeded in photographing the ruins before disturbing them 
in any particular, and regard these pictures as among my 
most valuable souvenirs, as we undoubtedly are the only 
white persons who have visited this historic spot since it 
was abandoned. 

The distance of the ruins from Fort Resolution is about 
three hundred miles. The route to them is through groups 
of islands, many of which are nothing but huge masses of 
rock, while others are richly clothed with pines and de- 
ciduous shrubs, the ground beneath carpeted with bright 
moss. Their elevation above the water varies as greatly 
as their physical formation ; frequently rising more than 
a thousand feet, with walls that are sheer perpendicular 
from six to eight hundred feet, and their horizontal length 
often extending for miles. The formation of the rock of 
which they are composed appears to be a species of flinty 



FINNY INHABITANTS OF GREAT SLAVE LAKE 319 

granite varying strongly in color, with the lines of strati- 
fication distinctly marked. 

The water of the lake north of the chain of islands is 
almost transparent, — so clear, in fact, that an object fifty 
feet below the surface can be distinctly seen ; while on 
the south side, next to Peace, or Slave river, the water is 
muddy and full of silt. This chain of islands reaches 
from .the east shore through the center of the lake nearly 
to the most western extremity. 

The lake abounds in fish of several varieties, all of 
which are of excellent quality. Whitefish predominate, 
Avhich are very oily, — a statement which probably no one 
would believe without having had ocular demonstration 
as we had. The number of trout is also marvelous, espe- 
cially in the clear water described in the preceding para- 
graph. There is another fish which it is believed is found 
only in this lake and its tributaries. It is fairly eatable, 
and is caught only with a spoon-hook, baited hook, or net. 
It is colloquially called " cony," which seems to be a cor- 
ruption of some word whose derivation I could not clearly 
make out, but probably the French " mcountt." These fish 
are used principally as feed for the dogs. 

Trout are generally caught by spoon-hooks and lines 
from a boat, by the method known as trawling. I once 
regarded it as great sport to catch trout in the manner 
indicated, but hauled out so many in the Great Slave 
lake it was no longer a pleasure, but hard labor. White- 
fish are captured only by nets. 

Fish in the lakes and game in the forests bordering the 
Barren Lands are in great abundance, and are the only 
support of a vast multitude of human beings, — the many 
tribes who live on the shores of the lakes and the streams 
tributary to them. 



CHAPTER XX 

AN Indian's wife of less value than a dog — mercury 

AT ZERO OCTOBER 10 — J. R. REA, A HERO OF HEROES — 
desperation OF INDIANS — CRUELTY TO A DEAF AND 
DUMB GIRL — CHILDREN FRIGHTENED AT WHITE MEN — ON 
TASTING SUGAR, THEY SHOUTED, " HOPPY SHOMPOOLY ! " 
(sweet salt) — INDIANS TAKE PROVISIONS BY FORCE — 
THEY ALSO APPLY THE TORCH TO COLONEL JONES's CABIN 
— HE SHOOTS HIS FIRST REINDEER — INDIANS STARVING — 
CONJURE THE RETURN OF THE REINDEER — WHEN THEY 
DID COME, COLONEL JONES KILLED THEM — INDIANS EN- 
RAGED — CLAIMED BUT DID NOT GET THEM 

AN Indian regards his wife, or mate ( as that is the 
term that represents it in the far north), with less 
^ consideration than he does his dog. They are, it 
is true, of greater value from a purely utilitarian 
standpoint, because they are able to work both winter 
and summer, while the dog works only during the for- 
mer season. While the wife was employed in erecting the 
teepee, perhaps sick from constant exposure, hardly able 
to gather sticks to keep up the necessary fires, with the 
thermometer ranging from fifty to seventy degrees below 
zero, the husbands would be idling in our cabin from 
early morning till late at night, leaving their comfort- 
able places at the last moment before we closed the door 
to retire. Frequently, to rid ourselves of their vermin- 
infested presence, we would make a bowl of gruel and a 
pot of tea for an ailing squaw, which we sent to her by the 
hands of the children. In a few moments the "buck" 

(320) 



PREPARATIONB FOR WINTER 321 

Indian would start for his lodge, hoping, no doubt, to rob 
the poor woman of the only comfort she could enjoy. 

The greatest annoyance we experienced was from the 
Indians, who crowded into our room ; and no matter 
how many were already there, they always seemed to 
think there was room for one more. We refrained from 
ordering them away, for it would have been an insult to 
the whole tribe ; and we needed their assistance as guides 
in the musk-ox hunt. 

As soon as we learned there was no prospect of obtain- 
ing any musk-oxen, and that we would not be ready to re- 
turn before the winter set in, we determined to pass the 
weary days, weeks and months in the land of the aurora 
boreal is. We were only partially prepared for the siege, 
as before leaving home I had taken no thought of spend- 
ing a whole year in that remote northern portion of the 
continent. I did not even provide myself with an over- 
coat. I had plenty of blankets made from the fur of the 
buffalo, which served me on all occasions, and they doubt- 
less were often the means of preserving my life. 

We each possessed an axe, felled the dry timber, about 
eighteen inches at the butt, and built a cabin sixteen by 
twenty feet, which was sufficiently large to admit sixty or 
seventy Indians at one time. We were compelled to raft 
the logs for its construction from four to five miles, and 
carry them on our shoulders fully one hundred yards, a 
good load for four men. Timber was only found in shel- 
tered ravines. In fact, these ravines are the only fertile 
spots in all that region, the formation of the whole coun- 
try being nothing but great mountains of stone. We lost 
no time in preparing ourselves, and on the 2d of October 
moved into our hurriedly constructed cabin. That night 
it blew a hurricane, accompanied by a terrific fall of 
snow. It may be imagined how grateful we were to be so 
well housed from the raging blizzard. I had been on the 
road for nearly four months ; had not slept under a roof 
or in a bed during the whole time. The rain had poured 
— 21 



322 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

upon me nearly every day during that period, and most 
of the time I was literally soaked ; but now what joy and 
comfort we could take I 

The snow that had commenced to fall when we luckily 
got into our cabin, continued without interruption for 
several days, and on the 10th of October the mercury sank 
to zero ; on the next day, four degrees below. We had no 
lumber for a door or glass for a Avindow, but utilized blan- 
kets for the openings, which made our quarters rather 
dark and dismal, even very cold, as the clay we used for 
daubing and the earth floor had been covered with water ■ 
from the continuous rains, and was still thoroughly satu- 
rated. After the 11th, however, the weather moderated, 
and we took advantage of it to hew some timber into 
thick boards, and made a door. We also used a white 
shirt to cover the opening intended for a window, which 
admitted some light, — besides an abundance of healthful 
ventilation 1 

My companion, John R. Rea, was born in 1857, near 
Kingston, Ontario, Canada. His parents were in but 
moderate circumstances, and John was obliged to work to 
help maintain the family. His schooling was like that 
of boys in similar pecuniary condition. He served an 
apprenticeship at blacksmithing, and he apparently had 
a taste for that art. He is about 5 feet 8 inches in 
height, and weighs 190 pounds ; is well-muscled and coura- 
geous. He is apparently a natural-born mechanic ; of a 
quiet disposition; says but very little, but what he does 
say is always full of meaning. His broad chin and 
high cheek-bones do not betray his character, as a more 
resolute and determined man to carry out any and every 
undertaking is seldom met with. He could sing but one 
song, "The ship that never returned"; and I must con- 
fess, the doleful music had no charms for me. He was 
just the kind of metal needed throughout our journey, 
and was a very useful man. Mr. Rea had already passed 
one winter on the Mackenzie river. With some canvas 




JOHN R. REA. 



PERSISTENT INDIAN BEGGARS 328 

we had been using as a tent, he made harness for our 
four big dogs ; also built a sled, and we soon piled up 
plenty of good dry wood, that we had to haul nearly a mile 
over some pretty rough roads, or rather, no roads at all. 

October was a blustery month. Snow-storms were fre- 
quent. The ice was thick on the bays and margin of the 
large lake, and the fish had departed for parts unknown. 
The reindeer were expected daily, but as time rolled on 
they failed to put in an appearance, bringing only disap- 
pointment and hunger to the Indians, as well as to our- 
selves. Eatables were getting very scarce, and the Indians 
continued to come from all directions, hoping to beg meat 
and a cup of tea from the mysterious palefaces who had 
invaded their domain. I had often read of the few expe- 
ditions to the far North ; how the savages had begged and 
robbed the members of their subsistence, and how they 
had suffered from hunger. I had made up my mind not 
to be caught in the same dreadful situation, and believed 
myself smart enough to circumvent the Indians ; but the 
white man who can outwit one of these northern tribes 
ought to pack up and start for their country at once. He 
would be of great service to the few traders there who at- 
tempt to carry on a legitimate business ! 

These miserable creatures would make all kinds of ex- 
cuses and promises ; tell what great people the whites 
v/ere; bring tongues of the caribou; follow us around, 
and declare that their children were starving ; that their 
fathers or brothers had gone to Fort Resolution for pro- 
visions ; that as soon as they returned we should be re- 
paid what we could let them have. One man wanted 
tobacco so badly that he became nearly wild, — caught 
Mr. Rea by both arms and plead for it with tears in his 
eyes. Another one returned after bidding us good-bye, 
and pretended that he had lost a piece of tobacco on the 
floor. He got down on his hands and knees and crept all 
over the house, pretending that he was looking for it. 
Then he commenced to bewail his fate. We spotted all 



824 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

such actions, and were firm in denying them at all times. 
I never used tobacco in any form, and would tell them it 
made me sick, and I was afraid to give it to anyone for 
fear it might affect them in the same way. Mr. Rea had 
learned a good deal of their language, and I soon learned 
some of the most important words; so that, with this 
knowledge, aided by signs, we could converse with them 
quite freely. The best interpreter we found among the 
Yellow Knife tribe was a deaf mute, little Emma, a girl 
about twelve years old. We could make known to her 
almost anything by signs ; she would then convey our 
wishes to her family in her own peculiar way. When- 
ever we could not make ourselves intelligible to the In- 
dians congregated in our cabin, we invariably asked for 
" Emma nachila " (Emma, little). Poor child! her lot 
was doubly deplorable. The story of her sufferings would 
fill a volume. One day, during a terrific blizzard from 
the north, I bundled up and went to the lake for water; 
just as I neared the bank, the child stepped up with a 
birch-bark pail full, when a mighty gust of wind caught 
and whirled her down the bank on the lake. The water 
flew all over her, and immediately froze. There she 
stood, with her arms stretched out, head bare, without 
shoes or stockings, with only a loose frock made of cari- 
bou skins to cover her nakedness. I picked up the pail, 
and by signs told her I would get the water and carry it 
to the top of the bank. She uttered a peculiar sound, 
and bowed in thankfulness. As quickly as I could, I 
handed her the pail of water, and she went swiftly to her 
father's teepee. The most provoking thing about it was, 
I knew her father and two full-grown brothers — all hale 
and hearty — were lounging in the lodge on caribou rugs, 
before a rousing fire, the wood for which had been chop- 
ped and hauled over a mile by an elder sister, only four- 
teen years of age, an ideal Indian lassie. This is only 
one illustration of the ways of those Indians of the 
North. 



CHILDEEN FRIGHTENED AT WHITE MEN 325 

One night a great niunber of Indians pitched their 
teepees about a quarter of a mile from our cabin. The 
next morning on opening our door, there stood not less 
than thirty boys and girls in the snow. Most of them 
were barefooted and bareheaded. Their ages ranged from 
seven to fifteen years. The moment they caught sight of 
me, all turned and ran toward the village as if a pack of 
arctic wolves were in close pursuit. 

It must be remembered this was the first white man 
they had ever seen, and having heard so many blood- 
curdling stories about the dreaded white race, no wonder 
they were frightened nearly to death. At last one of the 
boys ventured to look back, and seeing no one pursuing, 
stopped, and looked as wild as a reindeer. I beckoned 
him to come to me; he took a few steps, and then halted, 
not daring to venture farther. By this time quite a num- 
ber had stopped, and they looked at me with the wildest 
expression I ever saw on mortals' faces. I beckoned 
them to come to me, but they stood motionless, except 
some of the smaller ones, who kept right on until they 
reached the wigwams, where they no doubt crawled under 
deer-skins to save themselves from the paleface. 

I stepped back into the cabin, took two handfuls of 
sugar, and again appeared in the door, where I held out 
my hands toward them. They had not the slightest idea 
of the taste of sugar, although they had often eaten salt, 
which is found in great abundance in some of the marshes 
of that region. I took a lump in my mouth, smacked my 
lips, and said, " Nazou ! nazou ! " ( Good 1 good ! ) Finally, 
a boy of about thirteen years came to me shyly, and held 
out his hand. I gave him a lump. After putting it in 
his mouth, he turned to the others with the most comical 
expression. At last he managed to find his tongue, and 
shouted, " Hoppy shompooly ! hoppy shompooly ! " ( Salt 
sweet I salt sweet ! ) Then I was kept busy supplying the 
little beggars with the " sweet salt." The boys, when the 
supply of sweets was exhausted, ran to the woodpile, and 



326 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

seizing the two axes which were lying there, began to chop 
wood as if their very lives depended upon it. Perhaps 
they were looking for more sugar to follow this extraordi- 
nary feat, or maybe they were only showing their appre- 
ciation, of the treat, but we were kept well supplied with 
wood for several days. Not being satisfied with their 
work, however, they began on the logs of the cabin, and I 
was compelled to send them on their homeward journey, 
to save a shelter for ourselves. No doubt their dreams 
that night were of the "sweet salt." At all events, my 
introduction into Indian society was made. 

By the 20th of October, things commenced to look 
gloomy. The last cache^ had been invaded, and all the 
meat gone. Still more Indians kept coming; hundreds 
gathered around our cabin, all pleading for a mouthful of 
something. Several of them were sick; one nearly dead 
with the consumption, and we felt obliged to give him 
rations from our scanty store. Had it not l)een for Mr. 
Kea they certainly would have robbed me of everything. 
His experience on the Mackenzie river was of great value 
to us. He handled them without gloves; at least they 
thought so. One big burly savage attempted to run things 
his own way by kicking whatever came in his path. He 
having one day kicked over a bread-pan just to see it tum- 
ble, that was the last kicking he ever tried with us, as Mr. 
Rea struck him such a swinging blow under the ear that 
it laid him apparently lifeless on the ground. Mr. Rea 
then choked him until his eyes bulged out like peeled 
onions. The other Indians looked on with amazement 
stamped on their otherwise stoical countenances. 

A few days afterward, another "smart Aleck" arrived 
at our camp, and brought with him fifteen or twenty more 
starving redskins. We were eating dinner when they all 

1 Cache, a place for concealing or storing anything ; as, a hole in the ground or a 
cavity under a heap of stones ; also, provisions, ammunition, etc., stored in such a 
place. The custom of "caching " provisions is a common one by travelers In the far 
North, to provide against the emergency of a scarcity of game, which frequently 
occurs. 



IMPUDENT INDIANS 827 

unceremoniously bolted in, and the moment we arose from 
our improvised table the leader walked up to it and ex- 
claimed, "Dennie la tea, hula" (Indian tea, none), at 
the same instant seizing the copper bucket containing the 
coveted liquid, and swilling down about a quart. This 
was insulting in the extreme, but as we had several cad- 
dies of the article it was of little consequence. As soon 
as he sat the bucket down, he picked up a pot of meat at 
the other end of the table, thrust his dirty hand into the 
soup, and drew out a large piece of meat. This he held 
in his left hand and caught one end with his teeth ; then 
picked up our butcher-knife and cut off a chunk so large it 
would scarcely go into his mouth, and began devouring it. 
This was taking rather too much liberty for me to tolerate, 
and I sprang like a wildcat at his throat, wrenched the 
savory morsel from his hand, and sent him headlong 
toward the door ; then quickly made my way to the cor- 
ner of our cabin where we kept our supplies, deposited 
the pot of meat, and stood between tlie eatables, Win- 
chester in hand, until the Indians were gotten rid of. 
I said to Mr. Rea, that I was surprised he did not resent 
such "pure cussedness." He laughed, and replied he was 
waiting to see if I had any "sand." I told him I had a 
little left. " Then," said he, " let 's clean them out," and 
commenced to knock them right and left. They went out 
like a flock of sheep, except three that lay on the floor. 
Mr. Rea swung them out by the heels. We were very 
thankful when the impudent crowd left, as they were next 
to the hardest set we had to deal with v/hile in the north- 
ern country. 

Mr. Rea was frequently absent looking after his traps. 
He would be gone for hours, sometimes for days. On 
one occasion when I was alone, the night a dark and 
w^retched one, suddenly six impudent Indians entered the 
cabin and demanded tea, tobacco, flour, and in fact, 
"wanted the earth." They offered nothing in exchange, 
and I promptly refused to accede to their demands, ex- 



328 FOETY YEAES OF ADVENTUEEB 

cepting for water, which was ever at their service, if they 
would help themselves, as I always refused to wait on 
them. Finally one of them jumped up and exclaimed, 
" Con ! Con ! " ( fire), upon which five of them rushed out 
and gathered their arms full of chips and dry sticks, at 
our woodpile, one of the number returning with two 
pieces. He deliberately helped himself to a brand from 
my fireplace, and with it he darted out into the darkness. 
The Indian that remained inside the room said, " Dennie 
mad! " I stepped to the door and saw them heaping up 
chips at the corner of the cabin, which they had already 
ignited, intending to burn us out. 

It was an awful night, and I told the Indian who had 
talked to me in broken English, to stop them and we 
would have a pow-wow, and perhaps fix it up. He went 
to the door and spoke to them, and I went out and pulled 
the fire away from the cabin, when they all returned with 
me. I gave them two plugs of tobacco and a cup of tea 
each, at which they appeared satisfied. It was lucky that 
Mr. Ilea was not there, or trouble would surely have en- 
sued, and of such a character that the breach could not 
have been easily healed. I often think of that dreadful 
night and shudder, yet am thankful that I chose the 
right course at once. After that raid on me the Indians 
attempted to force us, but they were never as demonstra- 
tive again. We took a firm stand against any more of 
their foolishness, by knocking them down and dragging 
them out at the slightest provocation. We gave them to 
understand we " made medicine " so strong we could hurl 
such bolts of thunder and lightning upon their heads as 
would annihilate the whole tribe at one blow. 

November arrived without the advent of a single cari- 
bou, and the Indians were in a starving condition ; very 
few of them could muster half a meal. All left the 
neighborhood excepting about a dozen families. No 
sooner had the last of them gotten out of sight than 
a band of five caribou made its appearance from the 



ARRIVAL OF THE CARIBOU 329 

northwest, on the opposite side of the river, when we had 
really been expecting them from the northeast. I car- 
ried a Winchester rifle of forty caliber, using eighty-two 
grains of powder. The Indians had small single-barrel 
shotguns, with balls. They made things lively with their 
small weapons, trying to secure some meat, but became 
so excited that four of the animals passed through their 
lines and escaped. The remaining one was a monstrous 
bull, that threw his antlers high in the air and attempted 
to go around them. I stepped behind a clump of l^ushes, 
and as he trotted within a hundred yards of where I 
stood, took my first shot at a caribou.^ The ball broke 
his neck close to the shoulder, and he dropped dead. The 
Indians came up rejoicing, while I took a ))ack seat. 
They helped themselves, saying, by signs and their own 
language, "We pay you back when we kill one!" The 
next morning I was out of my blankets and traveled two 
miles before daybreak. As the sun rose, a herd of twenty- 
eight caribou appeared on the opposite side of the river, 
moving eastwardly to where I had secreted myself on the 
trail of the five that had already broken a path the day 
previously through the snow over the ice. They came 
within two hundred yards of me, then turned north- 
wardly, trying to ascend the bank at another point, 
which was also low. I opened fire, and killed the leader 
at the first shot. I pulled the trigger eighteen times, l)ut 
got only six animals. The Indians soon came over by 

^ The caribou of the arctic region is a North-American variety of the reindeer, and is 
much smaller than his congener, the caribou of Maine. It has never been domesti- 
cated. The caribou deer in America have to contend with the deep snow more than do 
the reindeer proper of the old continent ; their horns are broader, and better adapted 
to the purpose. Besides, both varieties, in addition to these natural shovels, have 
broad feet, not only to sustain them better on the snow, but also to clear it away ; their 
legs are much larger than are those of the common deer ; their hoofs are as broad and 
as large as those of a full-grown ox. A full-grown male caribou will weigh, when in 
ordinary flesh, four hundred pounds, while the common American deer weighs but lit- 
tle over half that amount ; but the caribou loses much more in dressing, for the reason 
that his stomach is abnormally large, this condition arising from the fact that his princi- 
pal food is moss, in which there is relatively very little substance. They will net when 
dressed about one hundred and eighty pounds, while the deer will net very near the 
same amount. • 



880 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

the dozen, and commenced to ridicule me for not killing 
more. I was so disgusted with myself I felt like break- 
ing my gun over a rotten log. All the time Mr. Rea had 
been standing on the bank, half a mile distant, witness- 
ing my miserable shooting, and was as much provoked 
as I. A fire was quickly kindled, and the Indians soon 
had all six of the heads roasting before it, without stop- 
ping to ask my permission. I picked up my rifle and 
walked to the fire, for it was dreadfully cold, where I 
commenced to make a close inspection of the weapon, 
and discovered that the raised sight which I always used 
had been lowered three notches ; upon which I laughed 
aloud, and exclaimed, " Nazzula! " (no good ), and then 
showed the Indians and Mr. Rea that the gun had not 
been properly sighted. Some one had misplaced the 
sights, and I had fired with a sight three notches lower 
than usual, — and that was the cause of my missing. 

One old Indian then struck himself on the breast and 
exclaimed, " Dennie nazzula I " (Indian no good), ad- 
mitting that on the previous day, while I was absent at 
the cabin after the dogs and a sled to haul some meat 
home, he had placed the sights down to where he thought 
was the correct notch for them. His explanation exon- 
erated me, and every one was astonished that I had oven 
done so well. They had been pointing at me and exclaim- 
ing, " Nazzula," ( No good ) ; now they exclaimed, " Nazu ; 
molar nachaw I" ( Good white man ; big ). 

The next day I killed six more caribou, out of what we 
hoped was the main herd, but they proved to be but a few 
stragglers. It was a Godsend that thirteen had fallen be- 
fore my unerring rifle, — more than double the number 
that had been secured by the whole band of Indians. 

Days and weeks passed, but no further signs of the cari- 
bou could be discovered. We had eight dogs to feed, and 
all the Indians remaining with us, numbering about forty, 
with whom we would shortly be compelled to divide, to 
prevent them from starving. They possessed sixty-two 



INDIAN INCANTATIONS 331 

dogs, so that if they fed them, the few caribou they had 
killed would furnish them only two days' rations. As 
long as an Indian has anything to eat he never stops eat- 
ing, or gives any thought to the morrow. Some historians 
claim the Indians have no particular time for eating, I 
say they have, and that time is all the time, if anything 
to eat is to be had. As we had anticipated, they com- 
menced to come to our cabin the second day after the 
killing of the last caribou, begging for meat. They plead 
most piteously, and when the older ones failed to receive 
anything, they sent their children ; and when they too 
failed, the women made their appearance. When they 
found it was of no use to beg, they tried to buy, offering 
their garments and a few furs they had secured. But we 
never sold any meat; if we allowed it to go at all, it went 
freely, without money and without price. 

On Saturday, the 9th of November, the Indians congre- 
gated in one wigwam ; and of all the wailing, screech- 
ing, shouting, lamentation, and chanting, it was far in 
excess of what I had ever heard. We knew very well what 
it meant: they were conjuring the return of the caribou. 
They continued their incantations into the night ; and the 
next morning, Sunday, it was intensified by the addition 
of tom-toms^, pans, kettles, and all manner of such dis- 
cordant instruments, during the entire day. Just as the 
sun wa^ about sinking into the great lake, which was only 
partially frozen over ( the center remaining open until 
December), while I was swinging my axe preparing kind- 
lings for the next morning's fire, my eyes caught sight of 
a dozen caribou crossing the bay, fully a mile away, going 
in an angling direction from me. I darted into the cabin, 
snatched my rifle from the rack, and was soon rushing 
over the ice (which was quite smooth) toward the leader 
of the herd. The animals would trot a little, then stop, 
and look in every direction. While they moved, I ran as 

'A peculiar kind of drum, constructed of wood, covered with rawhide made from 
reindeer skins. - 



332 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

rapidly as possible toward them; when they stopped, I 
stopped too, in a crouching position. Seeing me in plain 
view, they gazed for five or six minutes at a time, to see 
if I moved. When no motion was observed by them, they 
appeared satisfied there was no danger, believing me, no 
doubt, to be a stump, or a clump of spruce bushes; then 
would again move cautiously over the ice. When they 
stopped, I stopped; when they started again, I moved 
swiftly on until I had gotten within three hundred yards 
of them : then turned my battery loose. Four large ani- 
mals fell, and several others were badly wounded. I had 
not taken the precaution to get my belt of cartridges when 
starting from the cabin, and was therefore compelled to 
content myself with four, as the magazine of my rifle 
contained only eight loads. Besides, I was obliged, on 
account of the position of the herd, to shoot directly to- 
ward the setting sun ; so it was more from luck than by 
science that I secured as many as I did. 

When the smoke from my rifle had cleared away, I 
looked over the lake toward the wigwam, and to my dis- 
may saw all the Indian women and starving dogs on a 
rapid run for the caribou which I had killed. I rushed in 
the opposite direction from the dead carcasses, and drew 
the attention of the dogs from the meat, starting them 
for the living caribou across the bay, as there would not 
have been a pound of meat left had they discovered the 
dead animals. But the poor canines were so miserably 
thin and weak they could not have caught one with two 
of its legs shot oft' ! 

I could not fool the squaws as I had the dogs, and they, 
armed with butcher-knives, incontinently scrambled for 
the heads and limbs while I was slashing out the viscera. 
They had brought with them some l^irch-bark buckets, 
and scooping up the blood, poured it into the buckets and 
appeared very grateful to me for allowing them to get it. 
They very carefully saved all of the offal excepting what 
they themselves devoured raw on the spot. 



HABITS OF REINDEER 333 

The men were not so grateful. They really believed 
they had brought the caribou by their heathenish incan- 
tations and prayers to the Great Spirit, and gave me to 
understand by signs and words that they were entitled to 
the lion's share on that account. But it did not convince 
me, and they got nothing. 

The old men regarded me with amazement, and were 
emphatic in their praise for a man that could walk up to 
a caribou on the ice and shoot him down in such an easy 
manner. They really believed I could command the ani- 
mals to stand still and they would obey. We took advantage 
of their superstition whenever possible. They imagine 
themselves great hunters, yet never have learned the art 
of stalking in an open field ; they are cunning and crafty 
in the forest and brush, among the hills and large rocks, 
but of little account where there is nothing behind which 
to secrete themselves. 

When we study the habits of these reindeer, — how they 
always avoid the forest and hills by traveling on the ice 
and level plains, in order to avoid dangers from Indians 
and wolves that attack them in such favorable places, it 
is not surprising, in reading the history of Franklin's first 
expedition to the Barren Lands, to learn that the party 
saw plenty of reindeer on the lakes and level plains, but 
could not approach near enough to shoot them ; and that 
all of that heroic band perished excepting four or five. 
Had there been a "killer," as well as a hunter or a mili- 
tary captain or lieutenant, the whole party would have 
returned safe and sound. 

We plainly perceived that many of the women and 
children would perish from hunger, unless we denied our 
dogs, and divided what we had with them. We gave a 
little from time to time, but found it was apportioned to 
those who really needed it least. We therefore had to 
compel each family to send over one person each evening, 
to whom we gave just enough to keep them alive and able 
to move around. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

AEEANGING FOE A MU8K-0X HUNT — ME. EEA AND TWO IN- 
DIANS MAKE THE JOUENEY — CAUGHT IN A BLIZZAED — 
GEAPHIC DESCEIPTION OF THE GEEATEBT WATEEFALL8 OF 
THE FAE NOETH — SECOND NIAGAEA — BANDS OF EEIN- 
DEEE EVEEYWHEEE — DEIVING THEM INTO A COEEAL — 
INDIANS DETEEMINED TO STAY AND EAT WHITE MAn's 
MEAT — NOTHING COULD DEIVE THEM AWAY. 

THE date we had determined upon, early in the fall, 
to leave on a winter musk-ox hunt, was the 16th 
of November. All the Indians in our vicinity who 
had learned of our presence and intentions were 
anxiously waiting for the time to arrive, as they always 
regard an event of that character as a " red-letter " day in 
their calendar. As the auspicious moment draws near 
they become as fidgety as a sixteen -year-old maiden when 
she is to take the initial excursion with her first beau. 
Everything is hurry and bustle : the men making sleds 
and snowshoes, collecting meat and fish, and running 
races to harden their muscles, — for they are well aware 
that if they fall by the wayside they must return from the 
hunt in disgrace. So everyone nerves himself to meet the 
responsibility of such occasions, and if possible, to "put 
the other fellow in the hole." The women, too, are not 
by any means idle : their fate is continual labor, and now 
they are doubly subjected to the yoke of their masters. 
Tanning skins, making moccasins, mittens, chopping and 
hauling wood, besides everything else in the nature of la- 
bor, falls to their lot, excepting the manufacture of sleds 

(334) 



ARRANGING FOR A MUSK-OX HUNT 335 

and of the frames for snowshoes. During the limited 
amount of daylight in that remote region, their home, 
they are continually at work getting a supply of wood for 
the long nights that follow. In the prolonged darkness 
they are busy with needles, using the sinews of caribou 
for thread, lacing snowshoes, trimming the carryalls, and 
performing anything else that is beneath the dignity of a 
male Indian. 

The term " carryall," as high-sounding as it may ap- 
pear to some, is nothing more than a box made of dressed 
deer-skins, the framework of which is wood, placed upon 
a runner, which is simply a single birch board about 
twelve inches wide, hewn out with an ax and butcher- 
knife, and curved in front in the similitude of a toboggan. 
The narrowness of the sled (one foot in width) is necessi- 
tated by the fact that it is to follow in the tracks of snow- 
shoes, and pass through thick timber and brush. 

Frequently bands of Indians would visit our cabin to 
trade musk-ox hides and other furs for tea, tobacco, am- 
munition and other goods ; at other times they demanded 
credit, saying they were sure to kill great loads of ani- 
mals, with whose furs the}^ would repay. They declared 
they had fourteen sledges to go on the proposed hunt for 
musk-oxen, which would he sufficient transportation for 
one hundred and forty skins. We had no goods to part 
with on such an uncertain tenure. That we were correct 
in our estimation of their truthfulness, was verified 
shortly after, as will be seen. 

When the Indians were convinced that we had no idea 
of letting goods go or parting with our flour and other 
eatables, at any price, they ceased troubling us, most of 
them taking to the lakes with nets ; others with guns 
pulled out for the northeast, hoping to meet the caribou 
coming south. On these expeditions the women and 
children always accompanied them. The last band, just 
referred to, returned in about two weeks, in a starving 
condition. They then started for a point forty miles 



886 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

south on the lake, where it was reported an abundance of 
whitefish were being caught with nets under tlie ice ; and 
that was the hist we saw of them until the following 
spring. 

When the 16th of November arrived, we were ready with 
ten days' supply of dried meat in our carryall, expecting 
at least four more sleds to be on hand. The Indians con- 
gregated at our cabin early in the morning to witness the 
start. To our disgust, there was but one sled and two 
men in readiness to go, and they had managed to procure 
l)ut four days' rations for themselves and their dogs ; and 
even then robbed their women and children of what little 
there was in store, intending to trust them to our gen- 
erosity, knowing they would not starve during their ab- 
sence. We promised to divide our meat with them, and 
furnish tea. A promise was also exacted from us that we 
would not attempt to take any musk-oxen alive; we were 
also to furnish the men with ammunition and tea. If the 
Indians had had the least idea of our real intentions re- 
garding the capture of live animals, they never would 
have consented to move a step in the direction of the 
haunts of the musk-oxen, as they look upon them as 
sacred. 

It was very evident to Mr. Rea and myself, that if we 
both left our cabin while the Indians were in such straits 
for food, there would not be a pound of anything eata- 
])le left on our return. Each wanted to go badly, but it 
was simply impossible under such circumstances ; so we 
adopted the old Biblical custom of casting lots to see 
which should go and which should remain to guard our 
property, and to kill and store meat for future use. It 
was my luck to have to stay behind, for which I had no 
taste; but there was no alternative. 

At nine o'clock Mr. Rea with a train of two dog-sleds — 
four dogs to each sled — and two shepherd dogs and the 
two Indians started on a long, wearisome tramp after the 
most remote northern herbivorous animal, the musk-ox. 



WONDERFUL CATARACT 887 

There were already eight inches of snow, and more ex- 
pected daily. Snowshoes were an absolute necessity from 
the beginning to the end of their journey. The elder In- 
dian was an old-time hunter about sixty-six years of age, 
while the other,' his son, was a mere lad of not over 
twenty-two snows, and hale and robust as can be imag- 
ined. It was the latter's duty to do the "tripping"; 
that is, to go on ahead of the sleds and break a road for the 
dogs. If any of my readers believes that he can outwalk 
an Indian on snowshoes, let him challenge La Pierre, jr., 
the champion of the Yellow Knife tribe. 
Mr. Rea in his itinerary says : 

" Our course the first day was northeast, and we camped 
four miles from the south end of Artillery lake, near the 
river that drains it into Great Slave lake. I slept but a 
few moments that night, as we were near one of the most 
wonderful waterfalls on the continent, excepting Niagara. 
The roar of the great sheet of water can be heard for forty 
miles, and in winter the vai)or rising from it can be seen 
at an immense distance. I am inclined to think that the 
origin of the name, 'Artillery ' lake, is because of the col- 
umn of mist seen rising from it as the lake is approached, 
and the dreadful roar of the fall, which sounds like a 
battery of artillery in action, — the vapor adding to the 
illusion. 

"Many carcasses of caribou, bear, wolves and other 
animals are annually carried by the rapids to the falls, 
over which they are tumbled, to be dashed to pieces at 
their base. 

"The neck of Artillery lake is quite narrow immedi- 
ately above the falls, and its very narrowness is an in- 
ducement for wild beasts to cross at that point, after 
wandering fruitlessly elsewhere along the rugged and pre- 
cipitous margin for some suitable crossing-place. The 
water is extremely smooth at this i)lace, but very rapid, 
and once in its clutches the victim is doomed to certain 
— 22 • 



888 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

death, for the distance in perpendicular height is about 
two hundred feet, and the water in its terrible descent 
strikes a series of pointed and jagged rocks, making death 
inevitable to whatever living thing goes over the cataract. 

"Before the water was frozen, our dogs had plenty of 
food in the shape of the carcasses of caribou and bear that 
had met their doom at the falls, as at this point the vol- 
ume of water emptying into the Great Slave lake forms 
an eddy which casts all the victims onto the shore. 

"As I have stated, I caught Init a few wdnks of sleep; 
so roused my traveling companions long before the first 
indications of the coming day, and by the time the sun 
was visible above the horizon we were fully ten miles on 
our journey. Our trail on the ice of Artillery lake was 
almost directly northeast. Here we discovered the first 
indications of the presence of game. A few tracks of 
caribou showed that the vanguard and leaders of the win- 
ter migration of these strange animals had already passed 
westward. We halted on the west bank of the lake, kin- 
dled a fire, and took a second breakfast. As soon as it 
was sufficiently light to distinguish objects at any dis- 
tance, we discovered caribou on every hill and in all direc- 
tions. It appeared as if the whole face of the earth were 
alive and moving. We killed five, enough to supply our 
immediate wants; three of which we cached, so as to be 
certain of meat on our return trip. After that duty was 
performed we proceeded on our journey, our hopes re- 
newed, and with freshly inspired vigor. Young Pierre 
swung off in the lead as tripper, at a ' two-sixty-five ' 
gait. When we halted for dinner I was wet with perspi- 
ration, and long before night it appeared to me that every 
step w^as the last I could possibly make ; but I was too 
ambitious to acknowledge the fact, so it w^as my courage 
that kept me up rather than my muscles. 

"At last we made camp on the west shore in a clump of 
good-sized spruce saplings, affording us an abundance of 
fuel of excellent quality. We had been among caribou 



CAUGHT IN A BLIZZARD 389 

all day, and the next morning we traveled more slowly, 
killing and caching our meat. The fifth day out we were 
t^ leave the lake and take a northwestwardly course to 
the shore of Clinton Golden lake, where we expected to 
find the musk-oxen. 

"When we awoke in the morning a fearful gale was 
blowing from the southwest, with snow coming down rap- 
idly. We had a regular wigwam in which to shelter our- 
selves, but had passed the ' land of little sticks,' ^ and all 
the material we had to burn was roots which stood high 
above the surface of the ground, from which mighty winds 
had blown away the sand and snow. Here we were abso- 
lutely imprisoned for four days and nights by the violence 
of the storm. Fortunately, we had loaded our sleds with 
wood to serve us further on our journey. To burn it now, 
meant a day's travel on the back track for more ; so we 
put in all the little daylight we had in gathering the roots 
mentioned, managing by hard work to get enough to cook 
our meat and dry our wet clothes. The other twenty-five 
hours of the wearisome night we passed rolled up in our 
blankets. 

" We expected to be l^ack at our starting-place in ten 
days, consequently provided ourselves with only sufficient 
bread for that period, but before we broke camp the last 
biscuit had vanished. It was two days' more of weary 
travel to Clinton Golden lake, then the long journey 
home, — all of which must be endured with only meat for 
our entire diet. True, we had an a1)undance of tea, and a 
combination of these two articles must suffice for every 
meal during thirteen days' travel I 

" Our two days' journey overland was through a region 
quite level, a vast expanse 'of moss-covered granite with a 
little dead grass, appearing like an immense pasture tinged 
with the holocaust of autumn, which must be a para- 

1 Land of little sticks, the most northern region where wood can be obtained. 
Here the trees are so whipped and twisted by the wind from off the Barren Lands 
that they only attain a height of from three to ten feet. Thus, all Indians know this 
country as the " land of little sticks." 



340 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

dise in summer for vast herds of caribou and musk-oxen. 
The hills were relatively barren, whose principal carpet- 
ing was broken granite, their surface in turn covered 
by moss. In winter when the wind whirls the snow from 
these elevated places to the valleys and it lodges there, and 
in the gorges, the caribou and musk-ox live on the mosses 
of the bare hills. 

"On the second morning out from the lake we came 
upon an old musk-ox bull's track, so recently made that 
our loose shepherd dogs became terribly excited and took 
up his trail, which we also followed for some distance. If 
we had killed him and two more, it would have made 
three, as the boy answered who was fishing one day, ac- 
cording to the ancient story. The trail of the huge fel- 
low soon became obliterated l)y the drifting snow, and 
that was the nearest we came to killing the game we were 
after, — and it took twenty-three days of our precious 
time to do even that 1 

" The weather continued so stormy that there was little 
daylight ; in fact, it was only twilight, and the winter was 
asserting its potency very rapidly. We turned southwest, 
making a great detour in returning to our last camp on 
Artillery lake, where we had several caches in which were 
stored our caribou, needed so badly, for our dogs had been 
living on half-rations several days, and began to show the 
effects of it in a most deplorable manner. 

"We arrived at the cache late at night, and when we 
opened it discovered to our sorrow that the wolverines had 
anticipated us and devoured the last scrap deposited there I 
We raked the bottoms of our carryalls, and were rewarded 
by finding a few pieces of dried meat, which were divided 
between ourselves ; but the poor dogs were in the same fix 
as the traditional Mother Hubbard's, — 'had none.' We 
had two more caches farther down the shore, which we 
could reach by hard traveling the next night. 

"When morning came the first thing we saw after get- 
ting out of our blankets was a small herd of caribou. 



RETURN OF THE HUNTERS 341 

Young Pierre took my rifle and managed to shoot all the 
cartridges in the magazine, which contained eight, and 
succeeded in killing seven. Two would have been an 
abundance, but when an Indian sees game and has plenty 
of ammunition, he never stops shooting until it is ex- 
hausted. 

"We selected two very fat young animals, and all of 
us, including our hungry dogs, had a great feast. We car- 
ried but little of the meat away, trusting to the supply 
in our caches ahead, which we had taken greater pains 
with in constructing, building them of green poles, which 
were frozen so hard that the most voracious wolverine with 
his remarkably keen teeth and powerful jaws could not 
gnaw them away, as we flattered ourselves. When we ar- 
rived where they were located, to our infinite surprise and 
chagrin both had been robbed by those ghouls of the Bar- 
ren Lands, the irrepressible wolverines I 

"We fortunately killed a caribou now and then. Fi- 
nally, on the night of the twenty-third day out, we ar- 
rived at our starting-place. Fort Reliance, where I found 
Mr. Jones seated before a blazing fire in the comfortable 
cabin, and twenty-five caribou carcasses and half a hun- 
dred exceptionally large whitefish stowed away in our 
larder, the roof of the building. He also had plenty of 
biscuits baked, and a large pot of beans smoking hot, 
over the fire. What joy and real comfort all this af- 
forded me, I leave to the imagination of the reader, who 
will kindly put himself in my place on that midwinter 
night in the arctic darkness." 

The fourth day after Mr. Rea left, on the 20th of No- 
vember, my last pound of meat was exhausted, excepting 
Avhat was in the pot for myself. The next morning the 
thermometer indicated thirty-six degrees below, and mat- 
ters looked gloomy enough. Just as I was in the act of 
tying on my moccasins to start in search of something to 
kill, all the Indians in camp came bursting in at the 



342 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

door, crying, "Jones! Jones! aton ! aton ! " (caribou). 
I grabbed my rifle, and before I arrived at the shore of 
the lake a hundred yards distant I saw a herd of about 
twenty-five animals running for the opposite side of the 
l^ay, with twenty starving dogs after them, and had not 
one-half of their pack already perished from hunger, the 
same additional number would have been on their trail. 
I turned back into the cabin, the Indians beseeching me 
to follow, but I was too experienced a hunter to run on a 
cold trail. To me it was a "cold day," and it would 
have surely been a cold trail. I sauntered leisurely up 
the river, and found the caribou had been crossing by the 
hundreds. I luckily killed two fine bucks, and the Indians 
were saved from starvation, as I gave one to the squaws 
for dressing the other. The animals had made their ap- 
pearance, sure enough, though about a month later than 
usual. 

That day one of the largest bands of caribou of the 
season made its appearance on the ice, near where we had 
previously constructed a corral.^ 

I saw a fine opportunity to bag the whole herd, by turn- 
ing them on the trail leading up to the corral. There was 
an Indian hunting with me that day, who was stationed 
at the only other point where the animals could ascend, 
while I was far out on the ice in their rear, driving them 
in the direction I desired them to go. I motioned for the 
Indian to come out from his hiding-place and show him- 
self, so as to turn the caribou on the trail to the corral ; 
in fact, I had told him before if the opportunity occurred, 

iThe corral was built of poles, in the style of an old Virginia worm fence, about 
eight feet high, with a capacity of one hundred and fifty animals. The gate of the 
corral was constructed after the manner of a wire rat-trap, and when the animals once 
entered they could not return. The corral stood back from the margin of the bay about 
a hundred yards, and from each side of the gate a flaring wing fence extended from the 
corral down to the bay, at an angle of about twenty degrees, forming a lane leading from 
the ice to the entrance. There were only two places where the caribou could ascend the 
bank, and the wings encompassed one of them. When the animals left the ice for the 
high land, some one was always secreted on their leeward side, and the moment they 
entered the wing all he had to do was to jump out behind them, give a yell, and they 
went pell-mell into the trap. 



LAYING IN SUPPLIES FOR WINTER 343 

to do exactly what I was signaling for, but he was so anx- 
ious to get meat he refused to obey, and the caribou rushed 
past him so close that he could have touched some of 
them with the muzzle of his shotgun. The fool of a sav- 
age fired both barrels of my shotgun loaded with buck- 
shot, without touching one of the herd, which I discovered 
by inspecting its trail afterward ; there was not the slight- 
est semblance of blood on the snow. Through his excite- 
ment the chance for procuring enough meat to last us and 
the Indians all winter was lost, and did not occur again 
that season, though Mr. Rea and myself afterward suc- 
ceeded in capturing a few in the corral. 

They continued to pass in small liands for two or three 
days, and when the slaughter was ended I had piled up on 
our cabin twenty-five choice carcasses of the reindeer. The 
Indians managed altogether to kill nearly the same num- 
ber, and I had a little rest from their constant impor- 
tunities for meat, — aggregating only al)out ten da3"s, 
unfortunately. 

Mr. Rea was unluckily absent during the hunt, or we 
would have secured as many more. He was out prospect- 
ing for musk-oxen on the shores of Artillery and Clinton 
Golden lakes. 

During Mr. Rea's absence one of the Indians to whom 
we had rented a net came sixty miles, bringing us sixt}^- 
two whitefish as our portion of payment out of his catch. 
These, together with the twenty-five caribou, were to con- 
stitute our winter's supply of meat, as there would be no 
opportunity of obtaining more until the middle of March, 
at which time the female caribou pass on their way to the 
shore of the Arctic ocean to rear their young. 

The Indians commenced to again beg for our supplies, 
until we plainly told them, " No more ! " They stayed un- 
til the last morsel of offal was gone, and I actually saw 
children eating the frozen contents of the paunches and 
intestines ! They might have done this simply to excite 



344 FOETY YEAKS OF ADVENTUEE8 

my sympathies, but it only resulted in intense disgust on 
my part. 

On the 17th of December the last wigwam was lowered 
and the occupants were strung out for a mile or more, 
wending their emaciated forms toward the setting sun 
(which had only peeped through the hills in the south). 
I was across the bay opposite our cabin, cutting wood. 
On seeing the long line of march, I was so rejoiced I could 
not cut another stick, but put on my coat and started for 
the cabin to have a general time of congratulation with 
my partner, Mr. Rea. But on arriving there, I was terri- 
bly disappointed, and all my feelings of relief were turned 
to anger. They had not all gone ! In the center of the 
cabin sat a squaw and her child, a little girl about seven 
years old, that I at one time had saved from a lingering 
death by the administration of the proper medicine at the 
right moment. She had been caught in a burning wig- 
wam and her greasy clothes were nearly consumed on her. 
Had she been a white child there would have been no hope 
of cure, but an Indian can submit to almost anything. 
I asked Mr. Rea what their presence there meant. His re- 
ply was, " I do not know." The squaw was a widow, and 
her dogs had starved to death, excepting one, and it could 
scarcely stand alone. I opened the door and told her, 
" Towtee I " (be gone) . I exclaimed several times in such 
an emphatic manner that she knew what I meant. She 
laid her head on her hand once, and motioned that she 
would go. That meant one sleep, and then she intended 
to leave. We sent them to our teepee that we had pitched 
to shelter our dogs. The next day I again ordered her to 
go ; she made signs indicating that after five sleeps the In- 
dians would return for her. I knew she was lying to me, 
and told her so in the best signs and language I could 
command. There she was, and what to do with her and 
the child was a grave problem, indeed. We could scarcely 
live and keep our dogs, let alone keeping two Indians and 
their dog. We finally agreed to allow her to occupy the 



TROUBLESOME INDIAN WOMAN 345 

teepee until the Indians came. The five days soon passed, 
but the Indians did uot make their appearance. We de- 
termined that it was very imprudent to keep her any 
longer, our storehouse being so near depletion. In fact, 
we feared that we should even be obliged to kill our dogs 
in order to sustain ourselves. 

On the tenth day Mr. Rea had the dogs hitched up 
bright and early, to take her and her outfit to the Indian 
camp sixty miles away. I told her then to pack up her 
traps and go. She was completely dumbfounded, and ab- 
solutely refused to move. When I made her understand, 
however, that we would give her no more meat, tea, or 
wood, she agreed to get ready and go, provided we would 
bring her back if we failed to find the Indian camp, — all 
of which we agreed to. Then, with four days' rations for 
every one, the dogs included, Mr. Rea started on the tedi- 
ous journey. The thermometer registered forty-two de- 
grees below zero. The little seven-year-old child rode in 
the carryall, while Mr. Rea and the woman were obliged 
to go afoot, with snowshoes. 

To say that I was happy when they pulled out, does not 
at all express it. 

As the sun was going down, on the fourth day after their 
leaving, I took my field-glass and swept it across the lake 
southward. In the distance I could see a train of dogs 
and a man walking ahead of it. I was worried, as I knew 
that if Mr. Rea were alone, he would be riding in the car- 
ryall. Presently a dog rushed out at one side. Then I 
was convinced that Susann ( the squaw) was returning, 
with the miserable cur that belonged to her. He was of 
no possible use except to rob us of our subsistence. Long 
after dark they arrived at the cabin, cold and hungry, as 
may be imagined. I had a hot supper prepared for them, 
which was fully appreciated. They had traveled two days 
through soft snow, and had made only a little over half 
the distance to the Indian village. Realizing that if the 
Indians were not there, it would require three days' jour- 



846 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

ney to reach home, as the distance was much greater than 
was expected, Mr. Rea turned his face homeward, where 
he knew there was at least a small store of eatables. 
Supper was soon served. The woman, child and dog had 
gone to the teepee, and we were resting ourselves before the 
fire, discussing the deplorable state of affairs, when sud- 
denly our dogs broke loose, barking, and running toward 
the lake. On looking out, there we discoverod a train of 
dogs and two young Indians advancing toward our cabin. 
They proved to be from the lodge Mr. Rea had been trying 
to find, and had brought a small supply of dried meat, 
to exchange for powder and lialls, which we secured with 
gladness. 



CHAPTER XXII 

INDIAN TEIBE LEFT WOMAN AND CHILD TO PERISH — THE 
SCANTY SUPPLY DIVIDED WITH THEM — DEOVE THEM OUT 
— MERCURY AT FORTY-EIGHT DEG. BELOW ZERO — LITTLE 
ELLEN COVERED WITH ICICLES — WOMAN CUT HER FOOT 
WITH AX AS AN EXCUSE TO REMAIN — COLONEL JONES's 

LONG JOURNEY IN THE DEAD OF WINTER CLOTHES FROZEN 

STIFF — FAILED TO FIND INDIAN VILLAGE — SAVED SUP- 
PLIES BY SCARING THE INDIANS ATTEMPT TO SECURE 

REINDEER INDIAN WOMAN SCARED THEM AWAY — TOO 

"mad" TO SWEAR — SECURED A GUIDE FOR A MUSK-OX 
HUNT. 

THE good fortune we met with in receiving the small 
supply of dried meat brought in by the two In- 
dians on the night of the new year revived our 
drooping spirits, and that night delightful dreams 
of plenty pervaded our slumbers. The idea had never en- 
tered my mind but the Indians had come purposely for 
Susann, as she had insisted they surely would. The next 
morning, after the Indians had feasted on the meat we 
had purchased of them and begged about one-half the re- 
mainder to last them on their journey home, they har- 
nessed their dogs preparatory to leaving. Susann still 
sat flat upon the floor, as was her custom when at our 
cabin, not making a single sign indicating a purpose of 
departure. I asked the men if they intended taking her 
with them, which was answered by a most emphatic 
" Ela.!" ( no ). I knew then that I must act very decid- 
edly in the premises, as the squaw with her "outfit" 

(347) 



348 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

would devour everything remaining of what we had bought 
from the men. I plainly told them that Susann must go ; 
that we would give her no more meat, tea, wood, or shel- 
ter; that she had promised to leave one day after her ar- 
rival, then in five, now she had been here fourteen days; 
— she must go at once. 

The woman's eyes flashed fire during our conversation, 
and she begged piteously to be permitted to remain five 
days longer, when the father of the young men would cer- 
tainly come for her. I told her and the men that I would 
listen to no more of their lies ; she must go ! The woman 
still sat in her place, determined evidently, not to move ; 
so I gathered up her leather hand-bag, with the fur coat 
she had pulled off, tossed them out of doors, and told her 
at the same time, " Towtee!" ( be gone ). 

She finally agreed to the proposition, but the men were 
to go ahead about five miles to a piece of timber, prepare 
tea, and await her arrival. 

Finally all had left, and my soul rejoiced over their de- 
parture, although I had turned a widow and orplian out 
into the cold world, without shelter. The wind was 
whistling through the trees, and the thermometer regis- 
tered twenty-four below zero, and still falling. When 
night came it was forty-three Ijelow, and the next night 
five degrees colder. Mr. Rea remarked that if the tem- 
perature continued to lower, the child would certainly 
perish that very night. I answered, "If ' p-od can tem- 
per the wind to the shorn lamb,' will He not stay tlie 
storm and temper it to an innocent little waif ? " " But," 
continued Mr. Rea, "the devil has control of matters up 
here." And it really appeared to me Mr. R. was correct. 

I was well aware that Susann and her little child were 
somewhere on the lake-shore, with nothing but dried 
meat and tea to eat and drink ; without shelter of any 
kind, excepting that of the heavens. True, they had a 
blanket and a caribou robe ; but these were cold comfort. 
Thinking the matter over, I really regretted my action. 



susann's self-mutilation 849 

and was worried concerning their deplorable condition, 
especially when I thought of the rugged road they were 
compelled to travel. The Indians had moved their quar- 
ters forty miles northeast, and it would require at least 
four days' journey for them to reach there. 

It was late at night. I had recorded the temperature, 
which indicated by the thermometer forty-eight degrees 
below zero, and had gone back into the cabin and was en- 
joying a rousing fire. All at once the door opened, and 
there stood Susann with little Ellen by her side, the frost 
covering them both, from head to foot. The face of the 
child was complety obscured by the ice that had formed 
from her breath on her capoo ( a combined hood and 
frock), while icicles appeared to hang from every hair of 
her head. 

I reluctantly bade them come in, and learned from 
Susann that the Indians had not waited for them at all, 
and that she had cut her foot with a small axe, which 
she carried for procuring firewood. As soon as both had 
swallowed some tea and a bowl of soup, I examined Su- 
sann's foot. Her moccasin was terribly cut, but the wound 
proved to be very slight. I had mistrusted something, 
as she only wanted me to look at the great rent in her 
moccasin and not at the gash in her foot. I examined 
the moccasin carefully, and discovered that the axe had 
gone entirely through the sole, as well as the top. That 
was enough : she had determined to remain at our camp 
or die in the effort, and had deliberately placed her moc- 
casin on a log and cut it with the axe, then used her 
butcher-knife, gashing her foot to correspond, which she 
thought would excite our sympathies, and she would be 
allowed to remain and continue to feast off our scanty 
supply as she had been doing. 

I said nothing to her about my decision regarding the 
wound, but applied carbolic acid, then some iodoform on 
medicated cotton. On the fourth morning, when taking 
off the bandage, I found it entirely well. It was a great 



350 FOBTY YEAES OF ADVENTURES 

surprise to Susann, as she had never before known a wound 
like hers healed in less than a fortnight. 

I then told her to get ready ; that I was going to take 
her and her child to the Indian camp, sixty miles distant, 
on the sled. All she did at this intelligence was to grunt 
and gasp. I was obliged to take summary measures, for 
our meat was nearly exhausted, and it was impossible to 
feed them any longer. She tried all sorts of excuses to 
awaken my sympathy, taking hold of her foot and pre- 
tending that it was very painful ; but I insisted that she 
must go, " Hurra!" I picked up little Ellen ; she kicked 
and screamed like a wild Indian, but I finally had her in 
the carryall, and at last Susann hobbled to the door and 
tumbled in also. Susann was at least forty years old, and 
weighed about 180 pounds, which made a big load for our 
dogs in their half-starved condition ; besides, there was the 
little girl and three days' provisions, my gun, ammuni- 
tion, and robes. 

The thermometer registered thirty-two degrees below 
zero when we started, and I acted in the role of " tripper." 
All day I plodded along, until late in the night, having 
made fully forty miles. I was completely worn out; my 
stockings and moccasins as well as my trousers were sat- 
urated with perspiration, and were frozen stiff, — so it 
seemed to me I was in splints, as I could scarcely bend 
my limbs. 

A fire was soon kindled, and until it was burning 
briskly I kept up the circulation by wading throiigh the 
deep snow, cutting dry sticks in the darkness. We piled 
up brush and spruce boughs on the north side of the fire, 
which served us very well as a shelter for a while, until 
the wind changed to the southeast, and made matters dis- 
agreeably uncomfortable, as the wind, smoke, sparks, 
ashes and snow were flying over us, all at the same time. 
The Indians did not seem to mind such trifling play of the 
elements. They rolled themselves up in a blanket, pulled 
the caribou robe over them, and were soon sleeping soundly. 



THE DESERTED INDIAN CAMP 351 

I had a robe and blanket also, but it was so windy and 
cold I could not sleep a wink during the whole night ; it 
was an impossibility. I lay as quietly as I could, watch- 
ing the Big Dipper as it apparently circled around the 
Polar Star, and when it was half-way around from where 
I had first noticed it, I knew that twelve hours had 
passed. My watch had long since become disal)led, and I 
only knew how time was fleeting by watching the constel- 
lations at night and a sun-dial during the day. 

The kettle was boiled, Susann suddenly ceased snoring, 
and after a scanty lunch we were once more on our lonely 
way. 

About ten o'clock I discovered sled-tracks running in all 
directions, where the Indians had been hauling wood, and 
I knew we were near their camp. Another half-mile 
brought us round the sharp point of a cliff, and there, a 
short distance away, the skeleton poles of three teepees 
stood, indicating where the village had been. Their in- 
mates had acted the part of the Arabs, — "quietly folded 
their tents, and as silently stolen away." 

Did they flee to avoid Susann ? was my first thought. 
I then tried to solve the problem, and remembered that 
we had not come across a single caribou-track made since 
the last snow, more than a week previously. This told 
the story: they had been forced to march to where there 
was game, or all perish from hunger. They had Ijlazed 
trees and placed sticks along the route, ^ which they knew 
Susann or anyone else could easily follow. They had also 
provided against her starving, by carefully hanging the 
carcass of a fox on one of the teepee-poles. 

By indications I decided they must have left three days 
before our arrival. I was sorely disappointed. My feet 

1 Whenever the northern Indians break up their camp they invariably place in the 
ground or snow two sticks at an angle of about forty-five degrees, one immediately 
behind the other, pointing in the direction they have gone, and at intervals on their 
march set single sticks, excepting when in the timber, where they blaze the trees for 
the same purpose. Whether on bare ground or snow-covered ice, the same method 
is employed. 

♦ 



352 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

were sore from the long walk, and my journey back must 
be performed as I had made it, by walking, unless the 
load which so hampered me could be disposed of ; I could 
then ride in the carryall. 

To attempt to follow an Indian trail to the end in the 
winter is a dangerous undertaking, unless one is well for- 
tified by a good supply of provisions, of which we were 
very short ; and besides, I had only one small feed for the 
dogs, and enough for myself to take me back to our camp, 
but no more. Now this must be shared with the Indians. 
I determined, therefore, to follow the trail, to find out, if 
possible, what direction the occupants of the deserted 
camp had taken. Away we went for four hours in an ex- 
actly southeast course directly from my way home. Fi- 
nally we came to their first night's halt, and here we 
stopped, boiled the kettle, took a lunch of dried meat, 
tea, and cold biscuit. I knew their destination must be 
far beyond, or they would not have stopped and camped 
for the night; so I turned the carryall around, and about 
three o'clock commenced the weary journey back to our 
humble cabin. 

Darkness coming on, we stopped and made tea, after 
which we plowed our weary way through the wilderness 
of spruce and birch trees, — or rather, bushes, for large 
timber is not found away from the margins of the lake ; 
and even there the trees are not more than eighteen 
inches in diameter. I tramped along far into the night 
and until completely fatigued, then halted for a little 
rest. It was bitter cold, and my clothing was frozen 
stiff. By good luck we stopped in a group of dry tama- 
rack, and shortly had a brisk fire under way. I fed the 
dogs the fox's carcass and took their food for ourselves, 
which made a scant supper. 

I partially dried my garments, rolled up in a blanket, 
and had a short nap. When I awoke, shivering with 
cold, the fire was still burning, and we soon had the 
kettle boiling. After eating a few scraps, at about four 



CHEERING NEWS FEOM MR. RE A 853 

o'clock we were again toiling on our way home. I did 
not walk, but took a swinging gait between a fast walk 
and a run, at the rate of about four miles an hour. 
When noon arrived we were within twenty miles of our 
cabin, and I felt sure I could hold out until safely there. 
We had two small biscuits for supper, which I needed 
badly in order to keep my strength. Susann, apparently 
realizing the fact without any suggestion from me, re- 
fused to eat any. This was the first charitable act she 
had ever shown me, as we had not been at all congenial 
since the day she came to our teepee. When within seven 
miles of home I ate the last morsel, and by ten o'clock 
was sitting before a brilliant fire in our comfortable 
cabin — something I appreciated as never before, espe- 
cially when I discovered that the thermometer registered 
fifty-two degrees below zero. 

The best and most cheering thing of the season was 
soon revealed to me by Mr. Rea : that he had killed two 
caribou, stored the meat away on the roof, and plenty 
was to be our portion for some time at least. My heart 
was gladdened by the intelligence, for now we were sure of 
subsistence for three weeks more, at which time the cari- 
bou were expected. Another gratifying thing was, we 
could save our dogs also, which were indispensable for 
our musk-ox hunt in March. 

Wood became very scarce, as the Indians had gathered 
every dry stick in the early part of the winter, and we 
were obliged to haul all we burned from a point over a 
mile away, through deep snow and over rough roads. 

Our dogs were so poor it became a vital question 
whether we should remain at the cabin or be compelled to 
use our teepee and move to dry timber. On account of the 
scarcity of wood, we were obliged to deny Susann any for 
her wigwam, as it required much more to keep it warm than 
it did the cabin. So we moved her and the teepee across 
the bay, where plenty of fuel could be procured, and from 
that on she had very little trouble in keeping herself and 
— 23 



354 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

child comfortable. We set her to lacing up siiowshoes, 
making moccasins, and repairing those nearly worn out, 
as no Indians were near, and it was an art with which we 
were not familiar. 

A week passed, and the father of the young men arrived 
with a sled-load of meat, which assuredly we were glad to 
receive. He brought a good supply for Susann also, as 
they had moved forty miles to the northeast, and had 
discovered the feeding-grounds of vast herds of caribou. 

We gave the dogs a reasonable allowance of the flesh, as 
we were now sure the danger of our starving was past ; 
and if necessary we could go to the Indian camp, provided 
no game made its appearance by the time our meat suppl}' 
l)ecame exhausted. It was impossible for us to hunt cari- 
bou, as the snow was very deep, and required snowslioes 
at least five feet long to hold us up. We could not induce 
the Indians to make us any large shoes, for they were 
afraid we would get all the game. 

The Indian did not take Susann with him, but prom- 
ised to return in one half-moon with his family and go 
with us on a musk-ox hunt. Several half-moons passed, 
however, but no Indians made their appearance. On the 
4th of February, Mr. Rea took the dogs and sled and went 
to the Indian camp. It required four days to make the 
journey. He did not find the Indians. Fortunately, 
however, he discovered a cache well supplied with meat, 
and loaded on three caribou carcasses, leaving tea, powder 
and balls in their place. As the weather was good, his re- 
turn trip was a pleasant one. 

On the 9th of February, while looking through my 
field-glass, I discovered nine caribou in the distance, com- 
ing on the ice of the lake. They took a different route 
from any others, bearing farther to the east of our cabin. 
There was no trail broken by which I could head them off 
in that direction. As we needed meat very much, to se- 
cure it I must hasten on ahead of them where they would 
enter the timber. It looked almost hopeless to try to 



MORE CARIBOU 355 

wallow through the snow with small snowshoes, and the 
snow was very deep for a mile and a half. Yet there 
might not be any more game coming our way for a month, 
so I plunged into the drifts, which were nearly three feet 
deep. The snow was so light that I sank about eighteen 
inches at every step. I kept plodding along while breath 
and muscle held out, then halted under the shelter of a 
spruce tree. 

There was a bare chance that the animals might swerve 
a trifle toward me and come within range of my rifle. 
Sure enough, the angle was made by them that I had 
hoped for, and they were about to pass three hundred 
yards to the east. Deliberation was not necessary : it 
was shoot or no meat. I pulled the trigger and away 
went the nine caribou over the lake, on the back track. 
I knew that if I sat perfectly motionless they would stop 
to investigate the cause of their fright, before running 
very far. Soon they all halted in a bunch. I then 
raised my rifle and sent a ball into the group, and was 
rewarded by a sound that convinced me that my calcula- 
tion of the distance had been correct. Away the herd 
dashed, leaving two of the coveted animals, each limp- 
ing on three legs. The ball had not carried quite high 
enough to hit their bodies, but fell to their knees ; it had 
broken a leg for each. They hobbled off quite lively, 
and were soon out of range again. Satisfied I should lose 
them if they ever sighted me, I retreated under the shade 
of a sapling, and from there went to the cabin. I now 
took two of the shepherd dogs to the trail of one of the 
wounded caribou, that was hit in the hind leg. As soon 
as the dogs caught scent of it, away they went, and after 
a lively race for a mile or more, brought a fine doe to bay. 
Mr. Rea started after it, and succeeded in knocking it in 
the head with an axe. It was a fortunate circumstance 
there were no Indians near to witness the killing, or they 
would have been wild with rage, as the first thing they 
cautioned us against when we met them was never to 



356 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

knock a caribou in the head. It must either be shot, or 
its throat cut, for to knock them in the head would drive 
all caribou from that part of the country, never to return. 
This they in their superstition religiously believe. They 
claimed that the reason Mr. Rea and the Indians failed 
to secure musk-oxen during the winter, was because the 
former wore a leather belt, which they believe is disas- 
trous to success on such hunts. 

Although this caribou was secured by their disapproved 
method, we found others came along just the same. 

The next morning I took the trail of the other crippled 
one, overhauled it about two miles from the place of 
shooting, and settled all its trouble by a well-directed 
ball. 

On the 10th there were brought to us by Indians, to 
trade for powder, two sled-loads of meat. The Indians 
also desired bullets with which to hunt musk-oxen. It 
was gratifying to make the exchange. 

Our dogs were soon able to haul wood, and Susann saw 
how, while absent after musk-oxen, we intended to leave 
the cabin. I fastened my revolver to the center-post, tied 
a cord to the trigger, ran it through a pulley attached to 
a beadstead beyond the other post, thence through a 
pulley in the door casing, and fastened the cord to 
the doorlatch. Then I attached another cord to the 
doorlatch, passed it under a bent nail just above the latch, 
then stood behind the revolver and pulled the cord. This 
had the effect to raise the latch and pull the door open, 
thus tightening the first cord so that it cocked and dis- 
charged the revolver, it being a double-action i^iece. The 
ball struck the door-casing and made the splinters fly. 
In order to discharge the weapon, all required was to pull 
the cord as many times as there were loads in it (five). 
I pulled the string and the ball struck the door-casing. 
I then readjusted the revolver, and pulled three times, and 
at each pull a ball passed through the open space. The 
little girl was so scared she crawled under the bed, and 



SUSANN BADLY FEIGHTENED 357 

only came out after the weapon had been taken down. 
Susann watched my operations with amazement, and ac- 
tually believed the weapon would shoot as many times 
as the string was pulled ! She was so frightened that she 
trembled like an aspen. I then took one of our surplus 
rifles, placed the muzzle of it at the bung-hole of a pow- 
der-keg, and arranged a string to the trigger so that if any 
one knocked off the boards from the windows, raised a 
rafter, or opened the door, the rifle would be discharged, 
the powder ignited, and everything blown to atoms. I 
did not attempt to explain matters to Susann in any way 
whatever, but would occasionally, after testing these 
methods, exclaim in an audible tone, " Nazu! " (good). 

When I went to my traps soon after, Susann took occa- 
.sion to visit Mr. Rea, to learn if I had not gone crazy. 
She was terribly frightened, and begged him to take her 
and the child immediately to the Indian camp, seventy- 
five miles distant. He explained to her, however, that as 
long as no one attempted to disturb things, hammer on 
or open the door, or raise the windows or rafters, there 
was not the slightest danger, but woe unto the Indian that 
molested anything whatever in our absence after musk- 
oxen. He also explained to her that her teepee was a 
good distance away from the cabin, and no harm could 
come to her and her little Ellen. This seemed to some- 
what calm her. She spread the report of what I had done, 
as soon as she got within hearing distance of the In- 
dians on their arrival, — which was just as we desired, in 
order to protect our property from the prowling, starving 
thieves of that region, who never lose an opportunity when 
hungry to steal whatever they can lay their hands on in 
the way of eatables. In all our dealings with those 
heathen, we made them understand that we possessed the 
power to destroy every Indian in existence at our will, and 
by so doing, saved ourselves from starvation. 

In four days the Indians were expected to arrive on 
their way to the musk-ox hunt, some four or five hundred 



358 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

miles to the northeast. The time had expired, but no In- 
dians came. Day after day dragged its weary length 
along, and our supply of meat was being rapidly de- 
creased. 

We were well aware that it would be the height of fool- 
ishness to leave for a trip of such proportions without at 
least ten days' rations for the dogs and ourselves, there- 
fore it became evident we should have to make a trip to 
the Indian camp to get meat or game. It was agreed that 
if no caribou made their appearance in the vicinity by 
night, the next morning Mr. Rea would make the trip. 

That morning it was very stormy, the wind blowing a 
gale, which precluded the possibility of seeing any great 
distance in advance. The caribou have three trails lead- 
ing from Great Slave lake to Artillery lake, their thor- 
oughfare to the north : one by way of a small stream a 
mile and a half east of our cabin ; one by way of a draw 
half-way to the stream ; another via the large stream just 
west of our camp. It was quite early when I started out 
and plunged into the storm and deep snow toward the 
small stream mentioned, to find out whether there were 
any signs of the anticipated animals. Arriving at my ob- 
jective point, I failed to discover a single track. On my 
return to the cabin I saw, through the almost blinding 
storm, eight of the coveted animals out on the lake, evi- 
dently directing their route up the little stream. No 
snow melted under my feet as I struggled toward the 
cabin, and upon reaching it I apprised Mr. Rea of the 
cheering news of the animals' presence. At once we were 
both on our way to head them off. The wind was blow- 
ing hard from the southwest, and we were obliged to keep 
under cover, as the eye of the caribou is exceptionally 
acute. The snow in the timber was very loose, and about 
three and a half feet deep. To run was impossible, to 
walk was almost as difficult, and we were compelled to 
wallow on as best we could, which was effected by taking 
turns and breaking a trail through the snow. When we 



BALKED BY THE INDIAN SQUAW 359 

reached the little river, both of us were completely satu- 
rated with perspiration. 

The animals approached within five hundred yards of 
the mouth of the stream, and then laid down. Mr. Rea 
and I regretted that we had not taken it more easily and 
not overheated ourselves, as the terrible wind .with the 
thermometer at twenty-six deg. below zero made us very 
uncomfortable, indeed, now that we were compelled to 
stop so suddenly. All left for us to do under the circum- 
stances was to break a trail through a thick clump of 
pines and keep walking under cover until the caribou had 
concluded their noonday nap, which lasted fully two 
hours. At the end of that time they all rose, and pro- 
ceeded on their course until they arrived at the trail I 
had made early in the morning. There they appeared to 
sniff danger, and turned their heads up toward the draw. 
We hurried back to that point, and were ready waiting 
for them. Before caribou enter a piece of timber they 
invariably pause to look and listen for any danger ahead 
on the route they intend traveling. While the herd was 
thus cogitating, a raven suddenly flew up the draw, and 
on seeing us uttered a series of shrill notes, which I inter- 
preted to be a rendering of Poe's refrain, " Nevermore " ; 
but the caribou appeared to have a translation of their 
own, of the bird's croak, for they immediately wheeled 
about and made a long detour toward the big river west 
of our cabin. Their movements suited us perfectly, as 
there we had provided blinds so that we could easily kill 
the last one of them, thus saving a wearisome journey of 
a hundred and fifty miles for meat. We hurried west- 
ward, knowing there was nothing to alarm the animals. 
Susann had come over that morning, and we had left our 
dogs in the cabin, cautioning her to be sure to keep them 
perfectly quiet until our return. Just as we had fixed 
ourselves in position to secure the game, we heard the re- 
port of a gun from near the cabin, about where the caribou 
were passing it. We instantly divined what it meant: 



360 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Susann had taken the small twenty-eight-caliber shotgun, 
loaded with nothing but small shot (which we used to 
shoot ptarmigans^), and discharged it at the animals 
while passing. Stepping out from where we had been 
concealed, to an elevation close by, to our intense disgust 
we saw Susann standing on the bank of the lake, and the 
caribou running at full speed half a mile away, in the 
direction whence they had come. Thus ended our hardest 
day's hunt of the season. On our return to the cabin I 
stepi^ed the distance from where Susann had stood when 
she fired at the animals, to where the nearest had been, 
and found it to be three hundred and twelve good long 
paces. If she had been within ten feet of them, she 
could not have killed one by any possible chance 1 

To say that we were disappointed would be flattering 
the English language. No words can express our feelings 
at the turn matters had taken, but we could do nothing 
to help ourselves. 

The next day Mr. Rea started on his long journey for 
meat, with the mercury at forty-eight below, and returned 
the fourth day without anything, as the Indians had 
moved their camp, and the great storm had so drifted the 
snow as to entirely obliterate every semblance of a track 
to indicate which way they had gone. 

Susann informed us that the Indians were to move to 
a small lake at the head of a little stream, emptying into 
Great Slave lake ; so all that could be done was to take 
her and the child as guides to their whereabouts. The 
next morning Mr. Rea started again with his guides, de- 
termined to find the Indian camp or some game ; both, if 
possible. After two days' absence Susann and the girl 
came tramping over the big lake and reported no Indians 
at the little lake, and that Mr. Rea had gone in the direc- 
tion of their old camp, hoping to find some trace of them, 

1 Ptarmigan, a bird belonging to the partridge family. They are very plentiful in 
the far North. In winter they live on the buds of willows and other trees. While' 
their color is a pure white in winter, as the snow leaves they shed their white feathers, 
which are supplemented by a brown plumage, the color of arctic mosB, 



DRESSING THE INDIAN BOY'b WOUND 361 

or caribou, as plenty of tracks had been discovered in that 
vicinity on his previous trip. 

That same niglit, two Indian boys came to the cabin 
from the village to have me dress a severe cut on the leg 
of one of them, occasioned by the cut of an axe. They 
reported meeting Mr. Rea that morning ; then I knew he 
would be guided to their village by their trail. They 
brought with them a small supply of meat and a dozen 
caribou tongues, the sight of which cheered my despond- 
ency, especially the tongues, for they were certainly de- 
licious enough to set before the greatest epicure. Caribou 
tongues are entirely different in their flavor from those I 
have ever eaten of any other animal. Summer-cured 
tongues are prized by the Indians for the amount of fat 
they contain. In winter they are spongy, and lacking in 
oil. The Indians claim, and insist upon it, that in sum- 
mer the marrow leaves the bones and flows to the tongue, 
and that in winter the reverse is the case ! But I know 
for a certainty, that there is a vast difference in the 
amount of fat, both in the tongues of the caribou and in 
their bones, at the times specified. 

The gash on the boy's foot was a horrid-looking sight. 
His leg had been wounded two weeks previously ; ' ' proud 
flesh" (excessive granulation) had already made its ap- 
pearance, the whole foot was terribly swollen, and it had 
an angry phase about it I did not like. I first made him 
bathe it in hot water, then bound on burnt alum, letting 
it remain until morning. It was then again washed out 
with warm water, to which was added one-twentieth part 
of carbolic acid. After drying, medicated cotton well 
sprinkled with iodoform was bound on. He then took 
his leave in the carryall for the village. I learned after- 
ward that he reported that I had made "strong medi- 
cine," as he was entirely cured in six days. 

During the sojourn of the two boys I kept track of them 
pretty closely. They were just as likely to sit down in a 
bucket of water as on a box; sometimes stirred the fire 



362 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

with the wrong end of the poking-stick ; would lounge on 
our bed, which was certain to infest it with vermin, much 
to our discomfort. 

I bought the meat the boys had brought, and when they 
were ready to leave discovered they had reserved none for 
themselves (their invariable custom) ; they appealed to 
me for enough to last them until they reached home — a 
two-days supj^ly. I asked them how much it would take, 
and kej^t on laying it out until they said it was enough. 
I had piled up more than half purchased of them, before 
they would admit it to be sufficient. I then placed it all 
together, -and told them they could not have any unless 
they surrendered the tea, ammunition, and other things; 
that I had paid them sufficient for all that I had received. 
Susann was present, and began to chide me for my refusal 
to give them "meat su" ( a meal of victuals ). I ordered 
her out of the cabin, after which she gave me a respect- 
ful letting alone. The boys would not buy back a scrap 
of meat, and were starting on their long journey with- 
out anything, either for themselves or dogs. After they 
had gone nearly a quarter of a mile, I called them back^ 
and gave them a dozen biscuit, which I knew would be 
ample for themselves; the dogs I thought could stand a 
two-days journey without food. 

On the 24th Mr. Rea returned with a load of meat, hav- 
ing taken the trail of the boys to the village, as I had 
imagined he would, and experienced no difficulty in reach- 
ing his destination. While at the lodge he had hired two 
Indians with sleds to go with us after musk-oxen, and we 
were to start the next day. They had no idea that we 
wanted any young animals, as they are not born until 
about the month of May. Mr. Rea had merely told them 
that we were after bull-heads. Had they suspected that 
we were really after young animals as well as heads, they 

lit is a well-known principle of acoustics, that sounds can be heard in the higher 
latitudes at a greater distance than elsewhere. It is a very easy thing for a man to 
make himself heard, in loud conversation, fully the distance of a mile. 



BOUSIE BARROMIE 368 

would have refused to go a step with us. Late that even- 
ing one of the Indians he had employed arrived with his 
sled; the other arrived late at night. But at the last 
moment, suspecting the real purport of our mission, and 
angry at me for garrisoning our cabin in such a manner, 
they refused to go. 

The Indian who had thus far fulfilled his contract was 
Sousie Barromie — Sousie in his own language meaning 
Joseph. He was about thirty-five years old, small in 
stature, weighed nearly 125 pounds, and was very lithe 
and powerful for his size. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

MUSK-OX HUNT 

A START FOR THE FAR NORTH WITH DOG-SLEDS — CROSSING 
MOUNTAINS — ON ARTILLERY LAKE — CUTTING TEEPEE- 
POLES — TERRIFIC BLIZZARD — LYING IN BLANKETS THIRTY- 
SIX HOURS — FACING THE WIND AT FORTY DEGREES 
BELOW ZERO — ON CLINTON GOLDEN LAKE — CAMPED IN 
LAND OF "little STICKS " — DOG CARRIED OFF BY ARC- 
TIC WOLVES — COLONEL Jones's narrow escape — press- 
ing TO the far north, FOLLOWED BY THE WOLVES — 

DISCOVERY OF NEW RIVERS AND LAKES MUSK-OX AT LAST 

— KILLS SIX MONSTERS — WOLVES TAKE VENGEANCE — 
MINUTE DESCRIPTION OF A MUSK-OX — INDIAN TALKED TO 
THEM, AND BELIEVED THEY OBEYED HIS COMMANDS — 
CROSSES GREAT FISH RIVER AND ARCTIC CIRCLE — OUT OF 

WOOD, HE RETURNS GUIDE BADLY LOST — COLONEL JONES 

DEPENDED ON HIS OWN JUDGMENT, AND ARRIVED IN THE 
OLD CAMP — PREPARING TO MAKE ANOTHER TRIP FOR 
MUSK-OXEN — GUIDE LEARNS INTENTION OF HUNTERS — 
IS HORRIFIED, AND ABANDONS THE TWO NIMRODS 

ON the morning of the 25th of February, 1898, just 
as the sun peeped over the high range of hills 
east of Fort Reliance, we started with our two 
dog-trains across a portion of the lake and up a 
small stream northeast; then commenced to climb the 
steep hills, the route so graphically described by Capt. 
Back, of the Royal Navy, sixty-five years before. The 
hills really turned out to be mountains before we reached 

(364) 



OFF ON A MUSK-OX HUNT 365 

their summit. The day was passed in breaking trails 
through the thick birch thickets and in crossing many 
small lakes. When the sun was sinking in the west, we 
had arrived at a point ten miles up the west shore of Ar- 
tillery lake. The weather was as fine as could be desired, 
excepting the extreme cold, which caused us to shiver. 
We made our first night's camp in a clump of timber, and 
the early morning found us again on the road, taking a 
northeasterly direction to the east shore of the lake. At 
noon we arrived at a small grove of sj)ruce trees ; and here 
Sousie gave us to understand that we must cut our teepee- 
poles, as this was the last wood long enough for that pur- 
pose; there were " plenty little sticks " that would serve 
us for fire on the next " big water." 

Here, in order to get poles long enough for our teepee, 
— and it was only a small one, — we were obliged to cut 
down the scrubby dead timber, which was fully seven 
inches in diameter, score and hew them down to about 
three inches, so as to make them as light as possible. We 
placed five on each sled, but unfortunately broke two that 
night, — or fortunately, as it turned out, as eight were as 
many as we cared to haul. 

We made a light drive that afternoon to a caiion where 
we found wood enough for a fire, and where Sousie suc- 
ceeded in killing four caribou, while Mr. Rea and myself 
pitched our tent and cooked supper. One of the animals 
shot proved to be a barren doe ; was very fat, and we fully 
appreciated its delicious flesh. It was the first meat fit 
to be eaten that we had tasted for four months. True, 
we had plenty of dried meat in our sledges, but it was 
nearly as tough as rawhide. 

The next morning a fine buck caribou came trotting 
across a small bay, and before we realized it one of our 
shephqrd dogs broke away and gave it chase. That was 
the last we saw of poor " Shep " until our return to the 
cabin, where we found him camping with Susann. He 
had traveled over sixty miles alone, on his return home. 



866 FORTY YEAES OF ADVENTURES 

In the afternoon we pulled off for the bluffs, found a 
few small dry sticks, and loaded them on our sleds, for 
cooking supper and breakfast. Sousie said, "Teweyna- 
chaw, ditchen slaw" (big water, wood plenty), which we 
knew had reference to Clinton Golden lake. 

The weather was quite warm and sloppy. Shortly be- 
fore night, snow commenced to come down thick and fast. 
We had left the lake, and were ascending the small river 
that connects the two large lakes. We pitched our teepee 
on a large knoll just west of the river, where the wind 
had swept off the snow, but it was covered with jagged 
rocks, and made a very uncomfortable bed ; yet anything 
was preferable to lying on the wet snow. The wind soon 
changed to the north, and blew a gale. We piled large 
stones on the lower walls of the teepee, and with a guy- 
line from the top, anchored it to a large stone. 

All night the teepee kept flapping and jerking with such 
terrific force that we expected every minute it would be 
rent from top to bottom. When morning arrived the 
wind was still blowing, the snow sifting through every 
place where even a single stitch had been broken in our 
heavy duck-cloth teepee. It was already three or four 
inches deep over our covering. We did not dare to stir, 
or the uncomfortable element would fill our bed. All we 
could do was to lie still. Toward night we realized it 
would be best to eat a lunch at least, but Sousie was too 
smart to uncover himself, and we were emulating Indian 
habits in a commendable style. Finally I reached into 
the carryall ( that of necessity was always inside the tee- 
pee, to prevent the dogs from eating the rawhide strings 
with which it was lashed up), and fished out of the snow 
a small sack of frozen biscuits, which I passed around un- 
der cover; and that was all we had to eat until the next 
morning. The wind raged all day, and as night came on 
it increased, and, combined with the jerking and flapping 
of the teepee and the howling dogs outside, made the long, 
dreary night hideous. 



ARCTIC WOLVEB 367 

At the first streak of dawn, Sousie peeped out and gave 
an Indian whoop; then said, in a cheerful tone, with 
much emphasis : "Nazu! Nazu!" (good). 

Mr. Rea and myself had been in our blankets for two 
nights and one day, therefore were in a good frame of mind 
for such cheering news, not having eaten anything for 
thirty-six hours, excepting a frozen biscuit. We had 
barely enough sticks to make fire sufficient to bring the 
kettles to a Ijoil, and were very glad for the opportunity 
of proceeding on our journey. 

By the time the sun was up we were oft' for the " big 
water." The thermometer registered forty degrees below 
zero, the wind was sharp, and our faces were more or 
less frosted. About noon we were glidiiig over Clinton 
Golden lake in a northeasterly direction. At 8 o'clock 
in the afternoon we saw a clump of bushes far to the east, 
up a deep ravine. When we arrived and inspected it, 
found nothing but green sticks, but discovered another 
grove with some dry wood (very limited). Here we 
pitched our teepee. That night it snowed and blew 
furiously. 

Mr. Rea and Sousie had killed three caribou before the 
storm set in, and we were well supplied with meat. Next 
day was so stormy we were obliged to lie in our blankets 
most of the time. That night the arctic wolves made 
their appearance. They made no noise, but came for 
business. It was the sneaking, silent devils that did the 
mischief. The "calamity-howlers" we did not fear; all 
we had to do was to stop the calamity ( by killing them 
plenty of meat ) ; then they always stopped their howling. 

Long after the midnight hour had passed, our dogs 
commenced to make a great fuss around the teepee. 
Finally we made up our minds that the Indian dogs were 
trying to eat up our dogs, or vice versa. We knew they 
could not be hungry, as we had supplied them liberally 
with meat. I heard my faithful shepherd dog, Don, 
screaming as if aljout to Ije killed. It was so stormy we 



868 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

well knew that if we stirred, our l)eds would be filled 
with snow. The dog cried pitifully. I could not refrain 
from rushing out, and as I slipped under the flap door of 
our tent, I grabbed an axe, and before my feet were out, 
a dog ran against me and I went rolling in the snow. 
As soon as I could collect myself, I discovered all the 
dogs were going around the teepee at a terrific speed, and 
behind them came nearly as many white objects, which 
sent a thrilling sensation over me, as it reminded me of 
the "white-winged messengers of death." I knew what 
it all meant, and called to Mr. Rea to hand me the gun, 
crying, "Wolves! wolves! " Before he could pass it out, 
a monstrous wolf dashed at one of the little shepherd 
dogs that had taken refuge between my legs. I struck at 
him with the axe, but missed. "Don's" courage was 
still with him, for he caught the wolf by the hind leg, 
but the monster seized him by the back and started 
toward the brush a few rods to the east. Just then Mr. 
Rea handed me my Winchester. I ran up to the enraged 
brute, almost close enough to touch him with the gun, 
and fired. He let loose his hold and dashed at me. I 
Avarded him off with the gun. He gral^bed the barrel of 
the Wiiichester so tightly that he broke several teeth; he 
held it till death relaxed his grip. The ball had passed 
through his lungs. I cut off his head and skinned it for 
mounting. As soon as I had disposed of the dreadful 
In'ute, the others skulked into the Ijrush. We took the 
dogs into our teepee, and at daybreak pulled out for the 
north. 

The storm had not fully abated, yet we could make 
fair time; in fact, we were obliged to make time or freeze. 
All day we plowed through the soft snow until nearly 
night, when we came to an immense l^and of caribou. 
Mr. Rea, Sousie and I killed one each. We then went 
into camp al)out two miles north of where we had killed 
them. We took particular pains to take the fattest ani- 
mal and leave two for the howling wolves, so as to get rid 



WATCHING FOR MUSK-OXEN 869 

of them if possible. "We took the dogs into the tent, and 
had a good rest until near daybreak, when we were 
awakened by the snapping and growling of the miserable 
brutes. There were so many they no doubt had devoured 
the caribou, and wanted our portion of the fresh meat. 

Again we were out bright and early, keeping up our old 
gait. The wind was still blowing a gale from the north- 
east. " Bucking " a gale on the Barren Lands is no boy's 
play, and by night we were in good condition to rest ; as 
we had no fresh meat that night, the wolves gave us no 
trouble. 

We kept close watch all day for signs of musk-oxen, but 
saw nothing to indicate their whereabouts. The limit of 
the range of these animals is as far south as the north end 
of Artillery lake, yet they rarely pass south of Clinton 
Golden lake. We were now about seventy miles north of 
the south line of their range. Clinton Golden lake lies 
at a high altitude, about twenty miles north and some 
three hundred feet above Artillery lake, while the latter 
is fully seven hundred feet higher than Great Slave lake. 
The altitude and latitude make it ten to fifteen degrees 
colder there than at our cabin home. Clinton Golden 
lake is connected with Artillery lake by a small river. 
The latter lake empties about the same amount of water 
as it receives, into the Great Slave lake, through another 
river, of about the same size, sixty miles long. 

We discovered a river nearly or quite as large as either 
of siich rivers, emptying into the Clinton Golden lake at 
its northeast corner. The river was open in places where 
the current was at all rapid, indicating that it came from 
a deep lake near by. This river we traced in a north-by- 
northeast direction about ten miles to where it emerges 
from a small lake. The small lake was connected with 
larger lakes to the northeast, as we could see them from 
elevated places, stretching out as far as the eye could see. 
On the return we crossed a lake eight miles wide by 
twenty long. 
— 24 



370 



FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 



On the morning of the 4th we pulled northward, with 
the wind more in our favor, blowing from the west. 
About noon we discovered tracks of the mighty musk-ox, 
and went into camp. 




INDIAN TALKS TO THE MUSK-OXEN 871 

Mr. Rea and Sousie took a reconnoiter, and soon lo- 
cated a herd of six very large bulls. I was apprised of 
the fact, and soon hastened to the scene. When we ap- 
proached the black monsters the contrast betwe'en them 
and the surrounding white landscape made them appear 
much larger than they really were. Sousie commenced to 
talk to them in a loud tone of voice, and on hearing him 
they ran into a compact group, looking in all directions 
for the strange noise. We were well sheltered behind a 
pile of large rocks, and lost no time in getting in proper 
position. All the time our guide led the way, and told the 
animals to keep quiet ; that we intended to kijl them, just 
as the Great Spirit wished them to die, and that we would 
not kill any more than He had determined upon ; that it 
was much more honorable to be killed by shooting than to 
be devoured by the wolves, as they would surely come soon 
and destroy all if they disregarded the warning he was 
giving them. We did not understand fully what he said 
at the time, as our excitement and the creaking of our 
snowshoes had prevented it. We questioned him that 
evening all about what lie had said, and why. He be- 
lieved that if he had not told them to stand still, they 
would all have escaped and we should have lost not only 
them, but all others, on that particular trip. 

We had no trouble in getting within a hundred yards of 
them, as the country was all piled over with stones, some 
as large as a farm-house. Each one picked his animal, 
and in less time than it takes to write it they were all 
dead among the stones excepting one, that darted behind 
a large rock. When we walked around so as to look at 
him, the poor fellow was tottering on his trembling legs. 

Sousie raised his gun to shoot, but I shouted "Ela!" 
(no), "let him die peacefully;" and he dropped the 
gun at his side without firing. The animal lived Init a 
minute, then laid down, and rolled over on his side. \\'e 
had anticipated great sport in shooting the musk-ox, be- 
lieving it to be a game animal, but in this we were sorely 



372 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

disappointed; it was like slaughtering cattle in a corral. 
We then inspected our dead quarry. They were much 
larger than I had expected to see ; they are relatively di- 
minutive while standing, as their legs are so short that 
they do not appear as large as they really are. Their bod- 
ies are as large as a good-sized bullock, and had those we 
killed been in good condition, I believe they would have 
compared favoral^ly with a fair-sized three-year-old fat 
steer. Their bones were massive and firm, which indi- 
cates wonderful strength. The bone between the ankle 
and knee, from joint to joint, was exactly the length of 
the width of my three fingers ; their other bones were not 
in proportion. 

They must possess wonderful vitality and endurance, 
as they are so large around the girth. Their breasts are 
as broad and as well developed as that of a Norman horse. 
Their hinder parts are unlike that of the bufTalo ; they 
are as squarely built as a Galloway steer. The meat on 
the ham extends well down to their hock, and lies in rolls. 
When fat, a square cut across the buttock resembles va- 
riegated marble. The under fur is very long and compact ; 
as fine as silk, and when twisted into a small thread 
tightly, a man can scarcely break it. Doubtless it would 
produce the strongest fabric known, if properly manufac- 
tured. The tail is not at all worthy of the name — merely 
a small tuft of hair at the end of the spinal column. 
The hair on their necks and sides nearly sweeps the 
ground as they walk. It is jet black, except that around 
the nose and feet, and a large spot on the back, which is 
of a gray cast. The dark hair is of a glossy nature, ri- 
valing the locks of a Mexican seiiora, which have been 
bathed in bear's oil for half a score of years. On dis- 
secting the stomach we found a little dead grass and a 
great amount of moss, well mixed together, which con- 
vinced me they would thrive on good hay or other forage. 
Their feet very much resemble those of our domestic cat- 
tle, excepting that the heels are a little broader, and 



MYRIADS OF WOLVES 373 

are as soft as the frog of a horse's hoof. They roam very- 
little, as their hoofs would rapidly wear away on the rocks 
and pebbles covering the rugged region of their habitat. 

We pitched our teepee near the dead carcasses, and 
spent the afternoon in skinning and preparing the heads 
for mounting. On dissecting their bodies we found their 
anatomy resembled the bovine genus Mn all particulars, 
excepting the stomach and intestines. These are formed 
like those of the sheep ; their droppings resemble that ani- 
mal's, but are larger in proportion to the size of the beast. 
In consequence of such a marked contrast between these 
organs and those of the bovine, it is hardly probable they 
could be crossed with domestic cattle or buffalo. Having 
had so large an experience in crossing the latter, it was a 
very interesting study to me, and I was well repaid for 
our trouble thus far. 

That night it appeared as if all the wolves in North 
America had congregated around our teepee to take ven- 
geance on us for slaughtering these dumb brutes. At 
early dawn I peeped out. Every elevation, every depres- 
sion, and every slope between, was literally covered with 
wolves. Some stood within four rods of the teepee. I 
slipped my Winchester through the door, and selecting a 
large, pure-white animal, held my gun rather low, as it 
was quite dark, and I feared I might overshoot the mark. 
At the crack of the gun, the wolf went hobbling off, but 
soon fell dead, as I supposed. I lingered a moment, 
hoping to get another shot, but the others took the hint 
and skulked away. I then went out to examine the one 
I thought already killed, but the moment I came near it, 
up it jumped and started to run; I gave him another 
shot and he came down. When I approached him I 
found both a fore and hind leg broken ; I shot him again, 
and he soon expired. He was a magnificent specimen, 
so I set myself at work to skin him for mounting. After 

1 Many anatomists claim that the musk-ox belongs to the order of goats, but it is 
generally classed with the bovine. 



874 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

I had proceeded well with the work, I was astonished to 
discover that the brute had eaten off his foot below the 
place where his leg had been broken by my first shot. 
No doubt, on smelling the blood that saturated his leg, 
his appetite could not be restrained. " The foot gone, I 
regarded the animal as worthless for the purpose desired, 
so abandoned it. I had often seen wolves, when wounded, 
devoured by others of a hungry pack, but this was the 
first time I had ever witnessed or heard of any animal 
eating itself. ( I have inserted this remarkable instance, 
despite the protest of Mr. Rea, for while he declares that 
he personally knows it to be true, yet says no one will 
believe it. I am determined to give facts, regardless of 
the opinions of the public.) We were astonished, when 
we inspected the six musk-ox carcasses, to find they had 
not been disturbed in the least by the numerous hungry 
wolves. 

The wolves of the far North are as white as the arctic 
snow, excepting a jet black one is occasionally to be 
seen, and a few gray, — exactly the color of the prairie 
" loafers," or buffalo wolves, so numerous during the daj^s 
of that great ruminant. It is a mystery to me why the 
hordes of arctic wolves have not long ago exterminated 
the musk-ox and reindeer, yet the deer were so numerous 
that we saw tens of thousands every day. The whole 
country had been literally trodden down by them since 
the last snow, until it resembled a sheep corral. Those 
who have not seen the immense herds of these graceful 
creatures cannot realize their magnitude; and language 
fails to convey the idea. 

Of the vast number of these animals we saw on that 
trip, all were females on their way to the Arctic ocean 
regions to bring forth an equal number to themselves 
during the summer, now rapidly approaching. The males 
were still lingering in the forests far southward, which 
they visit in November, leaving them during the months 



ENEMY OF THE REINDEER 375 

of August and September on their northern migration, to 
meet the does in October. 

The wolf appears to be their only enemy, as the Indians 
■do not kill a number sufficient to be noticed, any more 
than the falling of a single needle in the mighty pine for- 
ests of the Pacific coast. These arctic wolves are very cun- 
ning animals. They must be very hungry, to be induced 
to eat meat they do not themselves kill ; that is why they 
fought so viciously for our live animals. For the reason 
referred to, it is very difficult to poison or trap them. 
The arctic wolf is a swift animal, and the Indians claim 
he can catch a caribou whenever he chooses ; but I doubt 
that statement very much, or they would be in much bet- 
ter condition, and not so persistently ferocious in their 
■eagerness to get something to eat. I have often seen 
them chasing reindeer, but they never came anywhere 
near catching them. They lie in wait for their prey, and 
rush after it with tremendous speed ; but the deer, seem- 
ingly ever on the alert, elude the fangs of the hungry 
•devils. I am convinced it would take a mighty fast wolf 
to overtake even a poor old reindeer. Some of my shep- 
herd dogs were regarded as excellent runners, yet it was 
rarely that they went fast enough to make a deer break 
his trot. Talk of Nancy Hanks ! Through a field-glass 
I have watched my dogs flying over the Great Slave lake 
after the trotting beauties, but have never seen a horse in 
the United States that could glide along with such ease 
and grace as the reindeer, — and I have been present at 
some of the most prominent races that ever occurred in 
this country. While, of course, wolves cannot catch a 
<5aribou in a fair race, yet when they have exhausted all 
other means of obtaining food ; when actual starvation 
compels them, and not before, they start after a caribou, 
chasing it day and night without ceasing, until, com- 
pletely worn out, the poor creature succumbs to its raven- 
ous enemy. It does not make the slightest difference how 



376 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

many herds of its fellows the chased caribou runs through, 
the wolves keep on its track, paying no attention to any- 
thing but the capture of their prey, which event they 
know is just ahead. 

After I had spent an hour shooting wolves, Mr. Rea 
called me in to breakfast. That suited me, for I was 
hungry; and we ate the flesh of the musk-ox. One of the 
animals killed appeared very old, but was quite fat. We 
saved a porterhouse steak from him, and the ribs; the 
latter, when boiled long enough, were very palatable. I 
could neither smell nor taste any musk, though Mr. Rea 
declared he got a whiff of it while skinning the superan- 
nuated bull. 

After breakfast we took up our old course, north by 
northeast, and kept it for two days, when we reached the 
Great Fish river. Here we reconnoitered diligently, but 
found no signs of musk-oxen. We then crossed over, and 
traveled two days more in the same direction, but dis- 
covered nothing. Even reindeer were left far behind. 

On the 8th we swung around to the east, and took an 
almost southerly direction for three days. We saw old 
signs of musk-oxen, but nothing fresh. On the 10th it 
snowed, and the wind blew furiously, — so much so that 
our guide ( Sousie Barromie ) became perfectly bewildered 
and lost. He was considered the best posted and best 
hunter of the Yellow Knife tribe. We had a terrific wind 
at our back, and the very fact of being lost was such an 
incentive to find some place that Sousie would recognize, 
that it sent us to a high rate of speed. Having started at 
four o'clock in the morning and kept up our pace until 
seven in the evening, with only. one hour's stop for din- 
ner, we must have covered fully fifty miles. Three and 
a half miles an hour, I am sure, was the slowest rate at 
which we traveled that day. We felt the effects of our 
march all that night and the following day ; in fact, the 
muscles of my legs were so stiff and cramped that it was 



ALMOST LOST IN THE SNOW 877 

impossible to sleep. I bathed them in strong cayenne 
pepper tea, or I should have suffered much more than I 
did. 

Mr. Rea and Sousie each drove a train of four dogs, 
and I did the tripping ahead. I felt perfectly safe, know- 
ing that by going far enough south, then turning west- 
ward, we were sure to strike one of the great lakes, or the 
river between, which was partly open water, and we could 
not get lost, — which would have been the case had it been 
frozen over and covered with snow. The great worry was 
that our wood had nearly been exhausted, and we must 
have something to melt snow or die of thirst. 

Sousie kept urging me to lead off westward, but I would 
sway to the southwest in spite of his protestations. I was 
sure if we went west, we should leave Clinton Golden lake 
to the south of us and surely perish, as no wood could l)e 
found for two hundred miles in that direction. On the 
morning of the 11th Sousie became furious, and fairly 
danced with anger, because I would not lead where he di- 
rected. I felt quite safe then in going more to the west- 
ward, and at noon noticed a long mark on the crust where 
the wind had cleared the new snow from the old. By care- 
ful inspection I could plainly see the imprint of our dogs' 
toenails, and the long mark was that of one of our sleds. 
It was our old trail, and we discovered it by the merest 
accident. We might have crossed at a hundred other 
places and should never have noticed the fact. 

By taking exactly the direction whence it came, we oc- 
casionally saw some mark or scratch, and its course was 
followed up for several hours. Finally Sousie recognized 
a stone laid by him on top of another, seven snows (years) 
previously. Then he was happy, and pointed nearly south, 
exclaiming, " Ditchen ! ditchen ! " (timber.) In about 
three hours we came in sight of the " land of little sticks," 
where we had our first wolf-hunt. Luckily, I trusted more 
to my compass than I did to Sousie. Had we taken a west- 



378 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

wardly course the previous day, we should have gone far 
to the north of Clinton Golden lake, and should have per- 
ished. 

The first bush I came to, I cut for a cane, I still have 
the cane, and prize it very highly as a souvenir. It was 
a green spruce, about four feet high. I counted the years 
it had been growing by its rings of knots, and they num- 
bered thirty-eight. 

To say that we were rejoiced once more, does not express 
our emotions in the slightest degree. We quickly cooked 
our meat, as meat was all we had, and then continued 
fifteen miles farther, to Artillery lake, where we camped 
for the night. Here we made known to Sousie that our 
hunt was not ended — only commenced; that we would 
pull a little farther down the lake on the morrow, get 
some good dry wood and then go to the northeast for 
musk-ox. Sousie's eyes rolled in their sockets, for the 
Indians all believe that if any musk-ox is taken out alive, 
all other animals will follow. They also worship the 
musk-ox as a god, believing it an unrighteous act to catch 
them or dispose of them in any way except to shoot them. 
They talk to them as if they were human beings. 

Sousie looked wild and perplexed. He said: "Why, 
white man with long legs, why do you wish again to 
freeze, and be devoured by wolves ? Have you not al- 
ready killed more and larger musk-oxen than any of your 
family who ever hunted them in this far-away country ? 
You have already left three heads and as many hides to 
be eaten by the wolves. The Great Spirit don't approve 
of that kind of work. I told a lie already for you, as the 
musk-oxen understood me that we would only kill what 
we needed, and I can't fool any more that way." 

He was much distressed over our intentions, and he 
would say no more, except " Nazzula 1 Nazzula!" ("no 
good" or " awful bad "). We gave him our ultimatum, 
and he knew there was no use to protest. He could speak 
a few words of English, and we had learned the language 



THE GUIDE REFUSES TO GO FARTHER 379 

of the Slave tribe very well ; so that with signs and words, 
both of which he understood, and the English language 
together, we could understand and make known to Sousie 
any ordinary subject. He was quick-witted, and "caught 
on " without difficulty. Next day we pulled to the tim- 
ber, and Sousie said he must go home : ' ' Jackwee bur 
hula " ^ ( " squaw-meat none " ) . 

We could not prevail on him to go a step with us. We 
were now far south of the arctic wolf range, and his 
courage came back to him. We did succeed in persuad- 
ing him to take our musk-ox heads, wolf-scalps and other 
trophies to our cabin, thus relieving our fatigued dogs 
of a great burden. We ate dinner together, after which 
Sousie started down the lake, and we went northeast. 

^ In all the words of the Slave language with which I am familiar, the accent is 
placed on the ultimate, which gives a sad intonation. Their language comprises very 
few words, and upon the emphasis depends the meaning. For instance, a word mean- 
ing a short distance will be soft, without any accent ; while if meaning farther away, 
the same word is accentuated,— so that by varying the accent, all known degrees 
of distance may be conveyed by the same word. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

COLONEL JONES AND JOHN R. REA START FOR CHESTER- 
FIELD INLET, NEAR THE MAGNET POLE, ALONE — MEET 
A BAND OP ESKIMOS ON DOOBAUNT RIVER — DISCOVER 
YOUNG MUSK-OX NEAR THE ARCTIC OCEAN — SHOOT ALL 
BUT THE CALVES — FIVE ARE LASSOED — " WILD WEST 
show" in the frozen zone — WOLVES DEVOUR A SHEP- 
HERD DOG — MAKE NIGHT HIDEOUS — A START FOR HOME 
— POOR PROGRESS — ANOTHER NIGHT OF DREAD — CAR- 
TRIDGES GIVE OUT, AND DESTRUCTION BY WOLVES SEEMS 
IMMINENT — TOILING WITH THE CAPTIVES BY DAY AND 
FIGHTING THE ARCTIC WOLVES BY NIGHT — INDIANS OR 
ESKIMOS CUT THE THROATS OF THE MUSK-OXEN WHILE 
THEIR CAPTORS ARE SLEEPING — OBLIGED TO ABANDON 
THE HUNT FOR LACK OF AMMUNITION — A HUNDRED 
MILES FROM CABIN, AND OUT OF PROVISIONS — COLONEL 
JONES FIRES THE LAST CARTRIDGE AND KILLS A REIN- 
DEER — A HAPPY NIGHT — REACH THEIR CABIN HOME IN 
DEPLORABLE CONDITION. 

THE first night after parting with our guide we 
camped near a small clump of dry sticks, which 
saved the wood we were hauling. The next two 
days we traveled east l)y northeast through a 
blinding storm. The next day was fair, and we made 
good time until about noon, when we struck a tributary 
of the Doobaunt river, and found plenty of wood. We 
followed the stream in a northeasterly direction until 
night, and camped in a large canon at the mouth of the 
Doobaunt proper, just north of the lake of the same 
name. Here were dead spruce trees, some a foot in diam- 
eter. Next day we found the river trending to the east, 

(380) 



AN INTERVIEW WITH ESKIMOS 881 

and abandoned it where it empties into Chesterfield inlet, 
taking a northerly direction. 

Just before leaving the river we came to a camp of Es- 
kimos containing twenty men and three women. They 
were dressed entirely in furs, and looked robust and 
healthy. I supposed they were Indians, until I came in 
close proximity to them ; but when I saw holes in the un- 
der lips of the men, with ivory buttons inserted, I knew 
they were not Indians, but Eskimos. "I attempted to 
pass around them, at which one of the old men struck 
himself on the breast and uttered some words which I in- 
terpreted to be, "Me good Indian ! " He had evidently 
been among the whalers of the Arctic ocean. I stopped, 
and repeating the signal, turned toward the little fire they 
surrounded. As soon as Mr. Ilea arrived he remarked, 
"Well, I guess we have run into a hornet's nest." I an- 
swered, "Yes, no doubt." We had a pot of tea made, 
and invited them to drink, and to eat meat. They cer- 
tainly drank tea, but touched the meat lightly, as they 
had an abundance of their own. Apparently they seemed 
determined to drink tea all the afternoon ; so, to rid our- 
selves of them, we gave them about a pound of it and a 
sheet-iron bucket to boil water in. This seemingly satis- 
fied them, and we hastily drove away. They ran after us, 
but we paid no attention to their chatter, not stopping 
until late at night. While among them I noticed shot- 
guns and a few small breech-loading English rifles. That 
evening we found where they had made walls of blocks 
of snow to shelter them from the piercing storm that held 
us so close to our teepee. 

On the 16th and 17th we passed through some of the 
most rugged and God-forsaken country that I have ever 
seen. The caribou were abundant, and Ave never lacked 
for meat. We saw a few jack-rabbits, and numberless 
wolves; several l)lack wolves were also seen, and many 
tracks of the arctic fox, but that animal is so shy we 
never saw one. On the 18th we saw droppings of the 



382 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

musk-ox, and late in the evening saw three old bulls, but 
did not disturb them. 

The 19th came, clear and warm. Before we had pro- 
ceeded three miles we crossed the tracks of about a dozen 
musk-oxen, made that morning. We halted, and Mr. Rea 
followed the tracks, soon returning, and reported the herd 
just ahead, behind a large peak of rocks. We took our 
guns and slipped up closely to them; counted six cows, 
five or six young animals, but only one yearling, and as 
yearlings were as large an animal as we cared to tackle, 
we rose up and walked directly toward them. They also 
advanced to meet us, approaching so close we could see 
their eyes bulging out, not to exceed seventy-five yards 
away. Finally one of the cows gave a snort, and away 
all went, running southward against the wind. 

We returned to our sleds without shooting, and drove to 
the shelter of a high range of stone a mile to the east and 
went into camp, deciding to circle around for game. 
While we were pitching the tent our shepherd dogs kept 
barking and trying to get loose; (we alwaj'^s kept the 
shepherd dogs chained to the sled.) Finally I climbed 
to the crest of the ridge, and there stood, or rather lay, 
a herd of musk-oxen just beyond, on the sunny south 
slope. And now we knew what had caused the dogs so 
much worry — they had scented the strange beasts. 

I saw" the herd contained animals of all sizes, and re- 
treated to the teepee without their observing me. Mr. 
Rea had tea boiling, which we soon hastily drank, and 
swallowed our dinner of meat. We then opened the bag 
of ropes, swivels, hobbles, etc., and put them in shape. 
Our lassos were swung around our necks, also a long 
half-inch rope intended for an anchor-line. Our gun 
magazines were filled with cartridges ; our pockets also : 
everything was now ready. When we reached the crest of 
the divide I must confess my heart beat a little quicker 
than usual — perhaps owing to the high altitude, or from 
exhaustion in climbing with such a load of ropes, guns, 
ammunition, and hobbles. 



AFTER THE HERD OF MUPK-OXEN 383 

I said to Mr. Rea, " Let's take it coolly, and have a lit- 
tle rest." He smiled, and said, "All right." 

I had supposed he would get very much excited, not hav- 
ing had the experience of myself in catching buffalo and 
other wild animals, but I could not detect in him a mo- 
tion that evinced the least nervousness. Long before 
leaving our cabin on the Great Slave lake we had our 
plans well matured as to the manner in which we were to 
capture the animals we were after. We were to run up 
to within a hundred yards of them, under cover if possi- 
ble, and shoot down all but two cows and the yearlings. 
We were then to break the hind legs of those cows, so they 
could not run, but stay and fight. We expected the year- 
lings would keep close to their mothers until we could 
lasso and tie every one. 

There were in the herd seven cows, two two-year-olds, 
and six yearlings. It being unlawful to hunt musk-oxen 
with dogs, we left our shepherds tied to the sleds; the 
others we could rely upon staying with them ; of course 
we didn't intend to violate the law! My shepherd dogs 
knew that musk-oxen were near, and they were to be 
cheated out of a very good time; but "Scrapper" had 
made up his dog's mind to be in at the killing if possible. 
We were creeping up behind some rocks for final position, 
when to our surprise five dogs went thundering past after 
the musk-oxen. "Scrapper" had slipped his collar and 
led the way; all the others not tied followed at his heels. 

The herd rounded up close together at first, as if to 
fight wolves,^ but they soon separated, and escaped from 
us. excepting two cows, a two-year-old, and five yearlings, 

1 Musk-oxen always move in herds ; very seldom is one seen alone. When pnrsned 
by wolves they invariably form in a circle, heads outward, the young animals instinct- 
ively taking their place In the hollow center, remaining there until all danger is 
past and the formation of the herd broken up. The Indians assert that a single full- 
grown musk-ox can defend itself against any number of wolves, provided it finds a large 
rock or ridge to back against. I very much doubt the statement. They never depend 
upon running from an enemy for safety, however. Their horns are very long and 
sharp, formed in the most suitable curves for defense, and are so massive, and set 
into the head so firmly, that no force, even should they strike a rock, could knock them 
loose or break them off. 



884 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

— which was a most fortunate division for us. Our plans 
were carried out to the letter, with the exception of shoot- 
ing under cover and breaking the hind legs of two cows. 
We both shot, when one cow and the two-year-old sank 
on the snow. I called to Mr. Rea, " Break the hind legs 
of the cow! " It required fine shooting to do it, and I 
knew Mr. Rea was the best shot ; at least he was while I 
was ol)liged to wear smoked glasses, as I had a slight 
touch of snow-blindness. He complied with my request, 
and at the second shot she dropped down on her hock- 
joints, a fixed object instead of a runaway. True, this 
was cruel, but such acts are always pardonable in the 
interest of science. My lasso was soon in shape, and I 
moved forward to take the little ones " out of other dan- 
gers into which they might fiy." The pretty, black, 
glossy creatures were terribly excited, and hovered around 
the old cow like a brood of goslings around a fighting 
gander when danger surrounds them. 

When I arrived at throwing distance one yearling stood 
alongside the old cow, his head close to hers. I whirled 
the. noose in the air till it fairly hissed, and let it fiy for 
the prize. The rope went fairly well to the mark, ])ut a 
little too far, and hooked over the point of the old cow's 
right horn, where it hung up. The little dog was biting 
at the heels of the animals, which kept them twisting 
around in all directions, while our sled-dogs stood in 
front of the old cow, keeping up such a continual bark- 
ing that it held her steadfast facing them. 

I paused a moment; just then " Scrap])er " nipped the 
heels of the yearling that I was after, which caused it to 
make a bound forward right into the loop, knocking it 
from the cow's horn, when with a quick jerk I fastened it 
safely around its neck. 

Mr. Rea was on hand, and we commenced to pull the 
rascal in, in about the same style as if there were a hun- 
dred-pound trout at the end of our line. Now came the 
danger of the others escaping, as all the dogs left the old 



LA8800ING MUSK-OX CALVES 385 

COW and made for the animal we had caught, as we antici- 
pated they would ; and for that reason we had spiked the 
old cow to the very earth Ijy l)reaking her legs. She made 
several lunges in her frantic effort to escape, but finding 
she was doomed, she suddenly stood still. 

The other four yearlings, relying entirely on her gener- 
alship, waited and lingered with her. We drove the dogs 
off as quickly as possible, but not until they had made 
several bleeding wounds on the legs of the one we had on 
the line. 

Mr. Rea held the rope while I threw a lasso on one of 
the animal's hind legs, by means of which we soon 
stretched the stubborn little brute on the snow. We has- 
tily tied all four legs together in the same style I used to 
tie a hog when a boy on my father's farm. Then I took 
the lasso and walked up until quite close, and as soon as 
one of the yearlings came darting around the cow, I gave 
my rope a whirl and threw it over another, but the little 
beast went right through the loop, excepting its hind legs. 
By a quick pull I caught it just above the ankles, and 
soon pulled it out in sled fashion. The dogs did not 
trouble it much, as they had learned in the melee with 
the first one caught what was expected of them. 

One by one we dragged the little beauties out and tied 
them, until we had four safely in the toils. I was so 
nearly exhausted that I could scarcely stand, and the 
dogs were making things " red hot" for the last yearling. 
Sometimes it would be fighting them ; sometimes running 
around the old cow, becoming so frisky that I made sev- 
eral throws at it, but missed. Finally Scrapper nipped it 
so sharply, it sought other protection, and came bound- 
ing over to me. I was sure it had selected me to take 
vengeance on, and made ready to jump aside to let it pass, 
but it ran to my left side, and as it did so I whirled 
around and laid the noose over its head without throwing 
it at all. 

As soon as it winded me, it darted toward the old cow, 
— 25 



886 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

jerking me headlong in the snow ; but the dogs were after 
it, — BO it came bounding back. Mr. Kea grabbed it as it 
endeavored to pass between us, and threw it. I was soon 
on its neck; its legs were quickly bound, like the others. 
Our dogs were then whipped off and made to lie down. 
I was completely exhausted, and was obliged to ask Mr. 
Eea to go to the camp, half a mile away, and bring some 
water. He brought a small pail of cold tea, which re- 
vived me very much. Before leaving for the tea, however, 
he put an end to the cow's misery by sending a ball 
through her vitals. 

We had not taken time to size the animals up, and it 
was a very interesting hour of my life, when I could 
quietly stand and see every twinkle of their eyes. The 
long shaggy fleece that covered the little creatures was of 
a browner color than that on the old bulls. They looked 
more like doll animals than like real live musk-oxen. 
Their short legs made me liken them to a little Shet- 
land pony colt, as compared with a race-horse. They had 
a tuft of long hair on the shoulders and also on their 
necks. The males had small sharp horns that pointed 
straight out from the side of the head and protruded 
about an inch through the thick mat of hair ; while the 
females' horns were not visible at all, yet could be felt 
beneath the clump of hair. Though they seemed dimin- 
utive, they were deceiving in size and the weight of their 
bodies. I had seen several of different ages, mounted in 
museums ; but it is evident the taxidermist never had seen 
one alive, or these specimens would have been filled out 
more plumply, and their bodies taken almost exactly the 
shape of a barrel. The ver}'- little nutrition contained in 
the moss compels them to gorge themselves until they 
have assumed an abnormal shape. These we captured 
really resembled a domestic yearling calf in the spring- 
time, that has been wintered at a strawstack. 

We now commenced to gather up the captives. We first 
took our long hemp rope, and tied five loops in it about 



ATTACKED BY WOLVES 387 

twelve feet apart; we then fastened each end of this rope 
to large rocks, and drew it quite tightly. From the loops 
a small rope was attached, at the end of which was a 
swivel, which in turn was fastened to the small rope 
around the animal's neck, in order to prevent tangling, 
or choking to death. While marching our yearlings up to 
the anchor-line, we loosened only two of their legs, but 
when they were securely fastened to it, gave them the free- 
dom of all their limbs, and the way they made the long line 
jerk and whirl for an hour or more was amusing. It was 
so long, however, that it relaxed at every surge of the ani- 
mals, thus preventing the possibility of injuring, that 
would have otherwise occurred, as it yielded to every 
effort in their attempt to escape. I had handled buffalo 
so often that my premeditated plans for the capture of 
musk-oxen were very easy for us to put into execution. 

We moved our teepee over to the south side of the hill, 
within about a hundred feet of one end of the anchor- 
line, and watched the frisky little captives endeavoring to 
regain their freedom, until the sun had sunk in the west. 

No sooner had the king of day passed beyond our vi- 
sion, than we heard a pack of wolves just over the ridge. 
We knew what it meant — no sleep for us that night. As 
there was plenty of meat lying a little to the southeast of 
us, we had hoped they would be content to let us alone. 
Not so, however. It appeared as if they had not found 
the carcasses of animals we had killed, but drew nearer 
and nearer our little live ones, evidently wanting meat 
they had themselves killed. 

As night advanced, the ravenous messengers of death 
came on. Our dogs were loosened upon the supposition 
they would be in no danger as long as we remained out- 
side with them, but little "Scrapper," one of our best 
shepherd heelers, anxious to measure his strength with 
them, dashed over the divide after one, where he had a 
"scrap" that the poor fellow hardly anticipated; that 
was the last we ever saw of him. Doubtless he was de- 



388 rOETY YEARS OF ADVENTUREB 

voiired in a minute by the pack we knew he had encoun- 
tered. 

It was warm and pleasant that evening, compared with 
others we had experienced ; so I took my stand at the end 
of the rope farthest from our teepee ; Mr. Rea at the 
other. We both had our guns and plenty of cartridges, 
and one by one we rolled the white monsters over as they 
appeared. We never pretended to shoot when they were 
more than forty yards away. Sometimes they would 
come singly, then in howling groups, two to a dozen in 
the pack. 

All night long — about nine hours of darkness — the 
crazy fools would trot up to be slaughtered ; most of them 
running as soon as shot, unless we put a ball in their head 
or breast. Those wounded would drag themselves away, 
to be instantly devoured by the others. When morning 
came they Avere just as numerous as during the night, and 
the sun was high in the heavens before they commenced 
to skulk away or attempt to get under cover. About 
noon we determined to try to get out of the horrid place. 
We had killed twelve wolves outright, and twice as many 
more, wounded, had gone off, to be devoured by their 
companions. 

We tied one end of our anchor-line to the carryall, I 
walking behind, holding the other. We set our only 
shepherd dog at heeling the yearlings up, as they were 
very stubborn at first, refusing to be led; but within 
an hour we succeeded in cooling them down somewhat. 
We fixed hackimos^ in the mouths of our animals, so they 
could not pull very hard on the line, which saved me 
many upsets. 

The day was warm, the snow melting rapidly, with the 
thermometer registering forty-eight degrees above zero at 
noon. We set our compass, marked our line of retreat, 

1 Hackimo, a headstall made with the rope after one end is fastened around the 
neck, so that it passes through the animal's mouth, whereby it can be held with but 
little effort. 



THE RETURN TO THE CABIN 389 

and started off, desiring to get along as fast as possible, 
as it was four o'clock in the afternoon before we got fairly 
under way. 

When the start was made, some of the animals pulled 
back on their haunches and stopped the whole train. At 
this juncture all I had to do was to point my finger at the 
refractory animal, when Don would fly at them, nipping 
their heels, at which they would take a spurt forward and 
I be pitched headlong in the sloppy snow; then they 
would change ends in order to fight the dog. Sometimes 
the animals would become tangled in the line ; the hind 
one in front and the front one behind. It was certainly 
discouraging. If we undertook to untangle them we were 
sure to receive a butt or two that would send us rolling 
over and over. My shins that night were "as black as 
the ace of spades." 

Musk-oxen are unlike the buffalo in one respect : that 
is, they do not kick like a mule, while the buffalo kicks 
like two mules — only much harder and oftener. The 
cows are of about the size of a thorough-bred Jersey, but 
not so tall. Their legs are so short, they look as if stand- 
ing on their knees. They have four teats like a cow, but 
they are short; have a round, compact udder. They ap- 
parently drop their calves about the middle of May. 

We went into camp the first night of our homeward 
journey about three miles from where we caught our ani- 
mals. The wolves appeared, and were as numerous as on 
the night previous; indeed, more so. They were deter- 
mined, apparently, to have dog, musk-ox, or human flesh : 
sometimes it seemed they would get all. Our ammuni- 
tion getting scarce ; we did not dare waste a single shot. 
We were compelled to employ our dogs to help start the 
ravenous group off, but they soon tired out, and skulked 
back to the tent. We threw stones, and even resorted to 
clubs as weapons, taken from our wood supply. We shot 
only the foremost one of the pack, which was always an old 
white male. If we drew blood on one, it retreated to the 



390 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

main pack in the rear, where it was instantly devoured 
without ceremony — every morsel eaten excepting the 
skull and skin. 

When morning arrived we again started on our home- 
ward march. All that we had taught our musk-oxen on 
the day previous we discovered to our disgust had been 
forgotten, and that they possessed more "cussedness" 
than we had imagined possible. They were as bad, if not 
worse, than when we first broke camp. All of them were 
gaunt, not having eaten anything since their capture ; at 
which we felt alarmed, fearing they would refuse to eat, 
and die. We worked carefully with them until about ten 
o'clock, then pitched our tent; and as there were no 
wolves bothering, we laid down and slept soundly till 
awakened by the barking of our dogs. On looking out, 
there stood a herd of reindeer not two hundred yards 
away ; apparently inspecting the small herd of musk-oxen 
and dogs, as well as our tent. Our dogs were as much 
worn out as ourselves, — so much so that they hardly 
knew whether to run out and catch a deer or not, after 
we had broken both of its fore legs. We secured two fine 
fat animals, and, after dressing and taking the best part, 
gave the dogs all they wanted, and proceeded on our 
journey. We made fully ten miles that day, and felt en- 
couraged. When we stopped and anchored the animals, 
two of them commenced to paw wp the moss and grass, 
and ate freely. We felt highly elated, as almost the last 
cause of fear had been cleared away. The wolves were 
prowling around on all sides. That night was a repeti- 
tion of the two previous nights. 

To our delight, we noticed all the musk-oxen diligently 
pawing up the moss and eating it, excepting the first one 
we had caught. It appeared stiff and sore from the wounds 
made by the dogs. As soon at daylight arrived, we struck 
our tent and continued the journey, swinging a little more 
to the south, as it was evident we must procure another 
suj^ply of wood before crossing the divide between the 
Doobaunt river and the great lakes. 



MUSK-OXEN KILLED BY MARAUDERS 391 

We again slept during the middle of the day, and about 
three o'clock started on our journey. We reeled off from 
fifteen to eighteen miles during the day, and had the 
yearlings so subdued that they gave us much less trouble 
than on the previous days. The day had been dark and 
cloudy, and the wolves appeared much earlier than on the 
days previous, having no doubt followed us from the last 
camp. We did not have more than a dozen cartridges 
left, and depended upon our guns alone for meat for our- 
selves and dogs. The situation began to look serious. 
Our bread had been all gone for two weeks. We battled 
all night with the wolves and managed to keep them 
"from the door," and froin devouring our animals. The 
weather turned quite warm during the night : we were 
having an old-fashioned January thaw, and all the musk- 
oxen worked diligently filling themselves with such prov- 
ender as they could paw out. The wounded one appeared 
convalescent and refreshed. We had secured two bulls 
and three heifers, and were now in high spirits over our 
golden prize ; yet dreaded our possible fate, on account of 
the constant pursuit of the wolves and our short supply 
of cartridges. 

We were off early that morning, bearing directly south 
for Doobaunt river, as only a few sticks of wood were left 
with which to cook meat, and to melt snow for water to 
quench our thirst and refresh our exhausted bodies. Wo 
expected certainly to reach timber the next day. About 
eleven o'clock we halted, having worried along fully ten 
miles that morning. Here, after taking a slight lunch 
and drinking cold tea that we carried in a rubber bag ( the 
life preserver I bought at Edmonton), we rolled up in 
our blankets, and I was soon dreaming of my far-away 
sunny home in Oklahoma. About three o'clock Mr. Rea 
woke up and went out to look after our animals. He re- 
turned, and said, "Jones, we are ruined! some one has 
killed all our musk-oxen. They have cut their throats I " 
I awoke from my happy dreams, and thought him only 



392 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

joking. I raised the side of the tent, looked out, and saw 
it was too true I Then my heart that had been throbbing 
so buoyantly with joy in the past few days sank within 
me ; a dizziness seemed to come over me, and I fell back 
on my blankets and was soon lost in a deep slumber. Mr. 
Rea said afterwards, it was quite difficult to arouse me 
again. 

We went out and inspected the situation of affairs. 
There had been twelve or fifteen Eskimos or Indians there 
on snowshoes, and they had cut the throats of all of our 
animals, leaving them lying dead with the ropes around 
their necks. We had only one dog ( Don) left that would 
bark at the appearance of Indians, and he was so badly 
mangled by the wolves he could scarcely heel up the ani- 
mals on the marches, and we had allowed him a caribou- 
skin inside the tent to sleep on. Had he been outside, 
doubtless he would have given the alarm, and we would 
have saved the yearlings, or shared their fate ourselves. 
The marauders left a peculiar-looking knife on the snow 
near the animals, having a handle about eighteen inches 
long, made of caribou or some other animal's rib, or tusk, 
with a blade four inches long, riveted to the large end of 
the bone. If we had known whether this knife-handle was 
from a land or sea animal, I could have decided who had 
committed the dastardly deed — Indians or Eskimos.- If 
it belonged to a sea animal, it would implicate the Eski- 
mos ; if to a caribou, more than likely the Indians. 

We followed the snowshoe-tracks for nearly four miles, 
and discovered that the party had been following our trail, 
and had retreated by the same route. We returned to 
our camp sad and weary, not able to tell if they were Es- 
kimos or Indians. Apparently we were on the neutral 
grounds between the hunting-fields of these two savage 
tribes. We had been warned time and time again by the 
Indians not to take any musk-oxen alive, but had paid no 
attention to them, as we were well armed, and knew they 
were cowardly and dare not open fire on us. We expected 



HOPE OF BECURING LIVE MUSK-OXEN ABANDONED 393 

to guard our animals day and night while passing through 
the enemy's country. It did not enter our minds that 
there was an Indian within two hundred miles of us, and 
we did not suspect the Eskimos of such treachery. We 
were so worn out and depressed in spirits that we rolled 
up in our blankets and slept until night was fully on, 
when we were awakened by the dogs barking and running 
around the teepee, occasionally screaming as though they 
were being devoured. We soon saw the wolves were clos- 
ing in on them, and called all the dogs into the teepee. 
Then we took turns in keeping watch, in fear of being 
destroyed, as we had no cartridges to waste. 

When morning arrived we unloaded everything we could 
possibly spare ; threw away all we had left of the sack of 
ropes, swivels, hobbles, etc., as well as a small sack of 
salt and other unnecessary burdens. Before leaving the 
dead animals we went out, hoping to save one or two of 
the heads for mounting, but found the wolves had de- 
voured everything, excepting the hair, which convinced 
us they must have been desperately hungry. We had 
been so worried and perplexed the day before, that it 
never occurred to us that we would want to see even any 
part of the remains of our dead animals. 

We abandoned all hope of securing even a single live 
musk-ox. We would have returned to their haunts and 
tried again, but knew that such action would be suicidal, 
as our ammunition was almost gone, and it was a serious 
question whether we could reach our cabin without taking 
great chances of starvation. 

So, with sad hearts and profound regrets, we relin- 
quished all our high hopes, and turned our faces south- 
ward. 

The snow was melting rapidly, and we were obliged to 
pull across the ridges on bare rocks. The sledding was 
good on the little valleys and lakes, which cover al)out 
one-fourth of the whole area of the country. 

We reached a canon of Doobaunt river that evening, 



394 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

and supplied ourselves with enough dry wood to last dur- 
ing several days while resting, and for the three-days 
journey to Artillery lake. The wolves were not nearly as 
numerous after we lost our musk-oxen. They had doubt- 
less been attracted by them, and as we had traveled slowly 
they followed us, and probably were joined by others 
every day. We killed plenty of meat at the canon where 
we found wood, and finally made a bee line for Artillery 
lake. When we reached the latter place, I had just one 
cartridge left in the magazine of my gun. We had barely 
meat enough for supper, and thei'e was yet a three-days 
journey ahead. The great herd of reindeer had already 
passed to the north, and only occasionally could we see a 
stray one, and they were very shy. 

We had directed our course so accurately that we struck 
Artillery lake about two miles north of where we had left 
it. When nearly down the divide, two reindeer ran out of a 
draw ahead of us, and circled around to the north". They 
came within about four hundred yards, and one stopped 
nearly facing us. I had my gun ready, and no sooner had 
it halted than I had "a bead" on it. Mr. Rea shouted, 
"Shoot the other one! It stands broadside to us ;" but I 
did not see "the other one," and was determined not to 
give up my chance, to look for it. This was our only 
hope. If ever I took aim carefully and held my rifle with 
a steady nerve, it was then. I judged the distance quickly, 
knowing the animal would jDause but a moment and then 
):)e gone. I elevated my gun about four inches above the 
top of his shoulders, and touched the trigger. " Bang!" 
went the gun. A puff of smoke, the recoil of my Win- 
chester, and at almost the same instant the sound of a 
sudden "spat" reached my ears, which assured me thai>- 
the deadly bullet had been well directed. As the smoke 
cleared away, I saw the coveted prize lying on the snow, 
and the "other one" flying northward. 

"Thanks! thanks! my worthy friend," sang out Mr. 
Rea, from where he stood. 



ARRIVAL AT THE CABIN 395 

We went to where the dead deer was lying, and upon 
examination, found the ball had hit exactly where I in- 
tended, at the point of the shoulder, coming out on the 
other side near the flank, having pierced the animal's 
vitals. We were almost overjoyed at our good fortune' in 
having secured such a magnificent doe. It lasted us and 
the dogs until we reached our cabin, where we had left 
an abundance of dry meat. We journeyed down the 
canon, where there was plenty of wood, and enjoyed a 
royal feast. 

The next day we reached Artillery lake, where we found 
fine sledding until we arrived at the portage which car- 
ried us over to Great Slave lake. The country there was 
almost bare ground, and we had about thirty miles to lug 
our sled across. We were obliged to pull along with the 
dogs in order to make any progress whatever ; some days 
we did not exceed ten miles. But we worried along, and 
finally reached the cabin on the afternoon of the 10th of 
April, having been absent forty-four days, traveling on 
an average not less than twenty-five miles per day, 
through storms and blizzards, over ice, rocks, and plains; 
making in all fully thirty-nine days' travel, or a distance 
of 975 miles, on snowshoes. So the reader must concede 
that we had a foretaste, at least, of real Arctic exploring. 

When we reached the low altitude of the Great Slave 
lake, nearly all the snow had disappeared ; the birds were 
singing as sweetly and warbling their carols as joyously 
as those of the far south. 



CHAPTER XXV 

AT THE CABIN HOME 

HYDROPHOBIA AMONG THE DOGS — ONE DOG SEVERS A STEEL 

CHAIN WITH HIS TEETH, AND DISAPPEARS MR. REA's 

NARROW ESCAPE WAITING FOR SUMMER HOW TO REACH 

THE NORTH POLE COLONEL JONES 's PRACTICAL METHOD 

— A START FOR THE SUNNY SOUTH — SLOW PROGRESS, 
LESS THAN A MILE A DAY — LAKE FROZEN FROM SHORE 

TO SHORE ON THE FOURTH OF JULY LIVING ON BREAD 

ALONE ARRIVE AT FORT RESOLUTION IN THE MIDDLE OF 

JULY FIRST NEWS OF THE WAR WITH SPAIN MUSIC IN 

THE FAR NORTH, THE "SWEETEST EVER HEARD" COLO- 
NEL JONES SO BEWILDERED, FANCIED HIMSELF IN THE 
"spirit land" FEASTING ON THE FRUITS OF HIS NA- 
TIVE COUNTRY ONCE MORE — GRAND RECEPTION AT THE 
FORT. 

WHEN we arrived at our cabin, after our mnsk- 
ox hunt, both of us were completely worn out. 
My feet were swollen to twice their usual size ; 
where the snowshoe-straps crossed, the blood 
oozed out and saturated my socks. Of course we were 
compelled to wear moccasins in that frigid country, and 
they could stretch to the size of a gunboat if necessary. 

We found the Indians congregated about a mile from 
our cabin in large numbers. They had picked up every 
conceivable thing left outside of a radius of two rods 
from the building. The knowledge that the revolvers and 

(396) 



HYDROPHOBIA AMONG THE DOGB 897 

gun were inside, and the assurance that the keg of powder 
would explode in the cabin, kept them all at a respect- 
ful distance from it. Had it not been for these facts, 
every vestige of our supplies left behind would have been 
carried away by the thieving band, and our experience 
would have been that of all others who ever trusted to 
the honesty of hungry Indians. To their credit be it 
said, however, that when not hungry ( which is rarely the 
case ) they can be trusted implicitly, for the property of 
others is then regarded as sacred, particularly caches where 
food is deposited, and only when upon the verge of star- 
vation will they touch it. Our supplies no doubt would 
have been an exception to the rule, — at least we believed 
so. 

Shortly after reaching our cabin we noticed that one of 
our large dogs ("General ") next to the lead in the team 
grew very quarrelsome, and was continually fighting his 
comrades. He was quite old, and his tusks were worn off 
until very blunt. We had observed his strange actions 
while on the last of our homeward trail, but knowing he 
could do little harm we paid but little. attention to them. 
.He had always been peaceal)le, and we trusted him more 
than we ought; at least Mr. Rea did. I was convinced 
from his strange actions and the froth from his mouth 
that he had a genuine attack of hydrophobia. He would 
bite his tongue until the blood and foam would run out 
of his mouth in a stream, and was continually snapping 
at everything that came near him. When we tied him 
up he would howl so pitifully we could not sleep. Sev- 
eral times Mr. Rea got up in the night and let him loose. 
During the day while hauling wood, he would pull all the 
load himself, trying to get to the dog ahead to fight him. 
It made no difference how many joined against him, the 
more there were the better he liked it. His teeth being so 
dull was all that allowed a single one to escape. He was 
very vicious when once aroused to anger, and had been the 
most faithful of our train-dogs in guarding off the wolves ; 



898 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

but the wolves had wounded him severely at various 
times. His nose had been badly split, as well as his 
under lip, while other wounds on his head plainly showed 
he had always been "in at the finish," He constantly 
grew worse. One day when we were out with the sleds 
on a hunting-trip, "General" stopped about every half- 
hour, turned entirely around in the harness, and fought 
the other dogs viciously. As soon as unharnessed he 
would pounce upon the first dog he met, upon which, all 
the train would set upon him ; but it did not daunt his 
courage in the least, — it only stimulated him to greater 
effort. 

I suggested to Mr. Rea that the dog was surely mad. 
He scouted the idea. Then we fastened him with a steel 
chain, and in less than an hour he had severed it with his 
teeth and immediately attacked the other dogs. Twice he 
was thus fastened, and as often severed the chain with his 
teeth. I do not wish to convey the idea that he cut a 
steel chain as a smith would do with a cold-chisel, but he 
crushed the links so hard they snapped apart and set him 
free. Probably no one who may read the above will 
credit the statement, but it is absolutely true. The dog 
was undoubtedly endowed with this abnormal strength 
of jaw, under the influence of the terrible disease from 
which he was suffering. 

Finally he attacked Mr. Rea, and but for his thick 
buckskin mittens and the blunt teeth of the dog, he would 
have been inoculated with the poisonous virus. Mr. Rea 
grabbed his gun, and instantly put an end to old " Gen- 
eral's " sufferings. 

We were convinced that he had a well-developed case of 
hydrophobia ; that he had been inoculated by the bite of 
the wolf which came so near to me that night at the tent 
while I was out on the musk-ox hunt. The wolf, doubt- 
less, was passing through the last stage of the dreadful 
scourge itself. I firmly believe it is that disease which 
keeps the wolves of the Barren Lands reduced in number, 



LOPE SEVEKAL DOGS 399 

or they would increase so rapidly as to exterminate all 
ruminant animals, for they propagate fully five to six 
times faster than either the caribou or musk-ox; besides, 
they have no enemies to lessen their number, for the In- 
dians will never kill a wolf except in self-defense, be- 
lieving that after death, one w^ho kills a wolf will be 
transmuted to that animal in the Happy Hunting Grounds. 

We chained up all our dogs, for fear they too would 
take the dreadful disease. The third day after disposing 
of "General," our faithful little "Don," that had been 
so badly torn by the wolves, showed symptoms of hydro- 
phobia ; and within twenty-four hours he became so vi- 
cious that we considered it unsafe to allow him to live 
any longer, and ended his troubles by a shot from my 
Winchester. In about twenty days thereafter, "Frank- 
lin," another train-dog, became very Giuarrelsome. We 
neglected to chain him, as his good-nature, as we supposed, 
would prevent him from doing any harm. The next day, 
while we were out setting a fish-net, " Franklin " took to 
the woods, and was never seen afterward. 

After resting for a week from our visit to the Barren 
Lands, we fully realized how embarrassing it would be, 
after spending a year in that region, to return without 
having secured at least one pair of musk-oxen. We would 
gladly have waited until May or June and captured some 
young calves, but having no milk, it was out of 
the question. We had depended for a supply of milk 
upon a Mr. William Armstrong, a partner of Mr. Rea 
who had been on the Mackenzie river trading for 
furs. I met him at Fort Smith, and made a con- 
tract with him to go after musk-ox with Mr. Rea and 
myself. While Mr. Rea and I proceeded to Fort Reliance, 
Mr. Armstrong was to go to Edmonton by open water in 
a boat, and return that fall by the same route to Fort 
Resolution; then to proceed to Fort Reliance on dog- 
sleds, and join us. Among other things he had promised 
to bring from Edmonton was a large quantity of con- 



400 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

densed milk, with which we would be able to sustain any 
calves of the musk-ox we might catch. But when he ar- 
rived at Edmonton, the Alaska gold excitement was at its 
height; he then forgot all about his partner, Mr, Rea, 
far off in the Barren Lands, and turned his face to that 
new El Dorado. Long did we watch and wait for his 
coming, but received no tidings from him until the 25th 
of February, when Mr. Rea received a letter by an Indian 
carrier who had just returned from Fort Resolution. It 
was not from Mr. Armstrong directly, however, but from 
a friend at Edmonton, informing him that Mr. Arm- 
strong had gone to Alaska. This was cold comfort for us, 
and the only thing remaining to do was to undertake to 
bring out some yearlings instead of calves. The plan 
would have worked successfully had there been one or two 
other men with us, so that we could have established reg- 
ular watches and all have secured sleep enough to warrant 
a continual guard until we had passed beyond the line of 
danger. Even after our yearlings had been slaughtered, 
if we could have procured milk we should have remained 
and brought out some small calves, which could have 
been accomplished by the aid of canoes for a greater part 
of the distance, while it would have been impossible for 
us to transport yearlings or older animals in this manner. 

Before leaving Fort Reliance we decided not to return 
up the rivers by the route we went into that country, but 
chose rather to come out by w^ay of Alaska, as it is all 
down-stream by that route excepting about twenty miles 
on the Peels river and sixty miles up the Rat river. 

I made a fair catch of furs during the winter, such as 
wolves, wolverines, fox, marten, lynx, etc. I had caught 
three silver-gray foxes, and saved them alive, and bought 
two at Resolution, making five; had saved ten marten 
alive, and was getting along very nicely with my charge. 
These, unfortunately, I was obliged to leave with some 
Indians on the Great Slave lake when we determined to 
change our course around by Mackenzie river, the Arctic 



REMARKS REGARDING THE NORTH POLE 401 

ocean, and the Porcupine and Yukon rivers. I hope to 
have quite a number of the marten and fox brought out 
sometime during the winter or next spring, and place 
them on an island in the North Pacific ocean, for breed- 
ing purposes. 

We had been in darkness so much during the previous 
winter, I was almost wild to reach the land of eternal 
day. Yes, I felt as if I would like to reach the North 
Pole, in order to realize the largest possible amount of 
daylight. 

Speaking of the North Pole, I desire to say: 

After my experience in the far North, I have come to 
the conclusion that the man who reaches the North Pole 
must be made of sterner metal than anyone who thus far 
has attempted the perilous journey. No "tenderfoot" 
will ever hang the flag of his country on the mythical 
pole, or on a real one, at the northern extremity of this 
terrestrial globe. When I say "tenderfoot," I mean any- 
one who has not had experience in all the arts required to 
meet every contingency necessary to such an undertaking. 
In the first place, he must be an expert hunter, or rather, 
an expert " killer." There are thousands of men who can 
shoot glass balls, kill birds on the wing; also many who 
can stand on the trails or runways of deer and shoot the 
majestic stag as he gallops by. He may be a skilled hun- 
ter, who has pitched his "A" tent in the "Rockies," and 
been fortunate enough to have slain the stately elk, moun- 
tain sheep, caribou, and even the grizzly bear; but all 
these accomplishments will not, alone, perfect him for 
the great feat yet to be accomplished. 

The man who can not only kill game in favorable loca- 
tions, where there are plenty of blinds behind which to 
conceal himself, but has learned the secret of creeping on 
all kinds of animals, equal to the white bear when it 
stealthily approaches the seal on the smooth ice, is only 
partially prepared for the adventurous undertaking. He 
should take lessons of the animals which prey upon others 
— 26 



402 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

for food, and not only closely observe them, but put into 
practice the lessons learned, until he is as skillful as the 
creatures that have unconsciously taught him. 

Did the reader ever study the cunning of a cat endeav- 
oring to secure a meal? If not, watch her when she dis- 
covers a mouse, rat, or gopher. She crouches close to the 
ground, never moving a muscle or winking the eye while 
the little rodent is still, but the moment the tiny creature 
moves, or lowers its head to drink or eat, she moves closer 
and closer, for while the victim-to-be is thus engaged, it 
does not discover or detect the action of the pursuer. 
While thus following her methods, she does not take her 
eyes from off the creature whose dainty flesh is to furnish 
her food ; every movement must be weighed and measured 
accurately, and thus not allow her quarry to detect a sin- 
gle motion or it would be fatal. When the right moment 
comes, she is on her victim with a single bound, and the 
watch is over. What is true of the cat also applies to 
the panther, lynx, wildcat, mountain lion, and other ani- 
mals of the feline species, and should also apply to the 
hunter. 

During my twoscore years of hunting, on the Plains 
and in the Arctic region, I learned to kill animals on the 
open i^rairie, ice-covered lakes, and barren lands, where 
there is no shelter behind which to hide, with as much 
ease as in the forests of the middle States, or among the 
rocks and hills of the Rocky Mountains. 

The reindeer and seal^ are very difficult to approach, 
owing to their acute sense of sight and smell. The In- 
dian never attempts, like the Eskimo, to measure cunning 
with the reindeer in the open country, or on the ice, but 
relies upon waiting behind trees or rocks, near their trails, 
or sjDears them as they cross large rivers or small lakes. 
The curiosity of the Indians was aroused to a high pitch, 
when they witnessed my attempt to kill four large rein- 
deer bulls on the ice without a blind behind which to 
hide. This, to them, was an unheard-of exploit, but to 



FAILURE ALMOST CERTAIN 408 

me it was an every-day occurrence. I had learned to walk 
up to that most wary of beasts, the antelope, on the open 
prairie, with as much ease as did the hunter for buffalo 
when he stalked those dumb animals in the early '70s, 
and could shoot them with all confidence and certainty. 
And unless the would-be Arctic explorer is skilled in all 
the arts of creeping onto and killing game in the open 
fields, he had as well stay at home. 

There is another requisite which is just as important to 
success as the game question. I refer to the will-power 
and willingness to do or die, without which the explorer 
will fail in his purpose. When he starts on his perilous 
journey, he must have made up his mind he has lived long 
enough, resign himself to any fate, and be ready to "give 
up the ghost " in that land of darkness, rather than have 
written beside his name, "Failure! " 

Andree, who started to the Pole in a balloon, possessed 
this determination to such a degree as in one sense to l)e 
commendable, and if the expedition had been judiciously 
planned, he might have been successful. His method of 
locomotion, however, was simply suicidal, and should have 
been prevented by his Majesty King Oscar of Sweden, in- 
stead of receiving encouragement from him. 

No one has any conception of the terrible solitude of a 
country where the foot of man has never trod, and even 
animal life ceases to exist. Here the tiny ant, the annoy- 
ing fly, and even the horrid spider, would be welcome vis- 
itors. 

If the winter darkness prevails, one is almost convinced 
it is the " everlasting darkness " of which we read, minus 
" the fire which water quencheth not," and is all that is 
needed to make it a veritable "hades." On the other 
hand, when the summer sun shines continuously, it 
causes serious belief that you have reached the portals 
where "eternal day excludes the night," and were it not 
for the pangs of hunger, certainly "pleasure would Ixin- 
ish pain." , 



404 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

The solitude causes one to become bewildered and lost, 
and only the strong-minded man, with an indomitable 
will, should ever attempt, or give serious thought to the 
undertaking. When Death, the "last enemy," appears 
to be right ahead, the hero must press on harder than be- 
fore, even to the very end. 

I firmly believe the North Pole can and will be found, 
if such a character or characters as I have attempted to 
portray, start wdth a well-planned exjjedition and line of 
march. 

Of course, dog-sledges are indispensable. Were I or- 
ganizing an expedition, I would not take more than two 
companions, on the last four hundred miles. I would 
start with three boat-sleds of five dogs each, with as many 
reindeer and loose dogs, working them every other day. 
Upon one team I would depend to bring me back, and 
would feed it fairly well, on dogs and deer killed for that 
purpose. The others I would keep on half-rations, while 
about one-third of the animals would receive very little 
food. When the first animal gave out, I would kill it 
and feed the flesh and bones to my dogs, or cache it; and 
as the others became exhausted, would treat them in the 
same manner. Thus I would go to the Pole and return, 
with only one sled. By taking dogs and reindeer for 
rations, for the return team, it would relieve us of a great 
burden, and lighten our load of provisions. If game were 
sighted, I would secure it, whether there were blinds or 
not, and thus save all the dogs possible. 

It is all-important that one be properly and lightly 
equipped ; also, just as important not to be overburdened 
with heavy clothing, which is detrimental to locomotion. 
Worst of all, too much clothing causes the body to be- 
come heated to such an extent in that climate, where the 
humidity of the atmosphere is greater than in any other 
part of the world, that it thereby causes perspiration so 
profuse that one's garments become entirely saturated. 
The sun's rays are almost powerless to cause evaporation ; 



CONFIDENCE IN PKINCE LUIGI 405 

consequently, when at midnight the sun sinks near the 
horizon, the clothing is frozen stiff (and this too, in sum- 
mer-time), which robs the explorer of the rest he so much 
requires. 

There is a way to accomplish anything and everything, 
and after it has once been learned, the journey to the 
North Pole will be comparatively an easy one. The only 
person I have ever had the least confidence would reach 
the Pole, is the gallant young Italian Prince, Luigi, who 
is now on his way in that direction. We all know he is a 
great hunter, and no doubt knows the art of "creeping 
up " to game. He is reported to be a very successful 
game-killer, and is courageous, with great will-power, 
which, unless judiciously used, may send him to his 
death ; but if he plans with a discretion equal to his 
valor, all will be well. When he kissed the hand of his 
aunt, the gracious Queen of Italy, accepted the flag made 
by her own skillful hands, and said, "I will place it on 
the North Pole or never return," I felt persuaded he 
would succeed. 

During the long nights of the previous winter the ice 
had frozen to a depth of six or seven feet on the Great 
Slave lake, and we must wait for open water or go to 
Fort Resolution on dog-sleds. My freight was somewhat 
limited after a stay of eight months ; as both of us had 
been blessed with a good appetite, our raids upon the 
original stock of provisions had reduced it materially. I 
could therefore have hauled all I had left with one dog- 
sled. Fortunately I had cached at Fort Resolution the 
previous year a goodly supply of flour, bacon, and other 
eatables with my friend Mr. Nagle. Mr. Rea was differ- 
ently situated : he had brought a boat-load of goods, hop- 
ing to trade with the Indians for furs, but the savages 
had been so dilatory they were almost destitute ; having 
failed to trap any animals, they consequently had no 
skins. Failing in the fall to kill any musk-oxen, and not 
having made their other semi-annual hunt in the spring. 



406 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

doubtless fearing we would follow their trail, they had not 
even a single robe of that animal, which is their prin- 
cipal dependence, with which to trade; so Mr. Rea still 
had all his goods left, with nothing to trade for. 

Here was a dilemma for which no provision had been 
made, for it would have required at least four dog-trains 
to transport Mr. Rea's goods to Fort Resolution, which 
it was impossible to secure, as, though the Indians had 
plenty of dogs, these dogs were in a starving condition, 
therefore the Indians could not go. The Indian dog can- 
not live upon Arctic snow and do hard work; he appears 
to do light work around the teepee on that provender I 
So Mr. Rea was obliged to travel by open water. I was 
aware that if I could only reach the Mackenzie river on 
ice it would put me at least a month ahead on my jour- 
ney, as ice always breaks up on the rivers a month before 
it does on the lakes. 

What to do was the problem that confronted me. Mr. 
Rea consented that I should do whatever I deemed best; 
that is, go on a single dog-sled, with the two dogs still re- 
maining, or remain until open water, when I could go 
with him. After lying awake several nights, rolling and 
tumbling in my blankets, I remembered the golden rule. 
Realizing what a dreadful thing it would be for me to live 
in that horrid country alone, three or four wearisome 
months, I decided at once not to treat Mr. Rea as others 
had, and told him my intentions were to stay with him 
"to a finish." 

Whether or not he was pleased in having my company 
in that God-forsaken countr}^, it is not for me to say; 
the reader can be the better judge. 

When June came, the snow left — also our eatables, 
as we were obliged to divide our scanty supply with a 
band of starving Indians who arrived at Susann's wigwam 
on their way to the Barren Lands after reindeer. We di- 
vided equally with them, although we needed every scrap 
badly. They ate it all at one meal, and then left, trust- 



START FOR FORT RESOLUTION 407 

ing to the Great Spirit for their next. Susann and little 
Ellen joined them to share their fate, on a vague possi- 
bility of living. Before leaving, the little girl came far 
out of her way, and with tears streaming down her cheeks 
reached out her little hand and said, "Molar, media," 
(white man, good-by). I gave her many little presents, 
such as knives, forks, spoons, a blanket, etc., which 
cheered her despondent soul, and she wended her way on 
the trail of her mysterious kindred. Susann did not even 
say good-by, and I was not aggrieved by her action. The 
female caribou had long since passed to the north. The 
males still lingered far to the south, and we relied entirely 
upon catching fish and shooting ducks, but found the fish 
did not abound in that end of the lake, or at least we 
failed to catch them in our net, or with hook and line, — 
no doubt on account of the transparency of the water, 
which allows the net to be seen from a great distance. 
We succeeded in shooting a few ducks, but cold weather 
set in again, and froze the lake completely over. We 
could see geese and ducks occasionally flying high in the 
air, but none came down. For eleven days we eked out 
an existence on half a biscuit each, three times a day, 
which was the hardest living that ever fell to my lot. I 
am certain of one thing : our Saviour knew of what He 
spake when He said, " It is written, man shall not live by 
bread alone," for I was so weak and emaciated, after my 
dreadful experience, I fully realized the truth of the state- 
ment. I could not see where to step, or distinguish one 
direction from another. Living for twenty-seven days on 
meat alone, as I did at one time while on this Northern 
trip, was continual feasting compared to slowly starving 
on bread alone. 

On the 20th of June we determined to abandon our hor- 
rible quarters, which were but a prison, and make as fast 
time as possible toward Fort Resolution. There was about 
fifty feet, on an average, of open water next to the shore, 
when the wind wag in a favoraljle direction ; but an ad- 



408 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

verse blow would drive the ice up on the margin of the 
lake and cut off navigation, especially when it blew 
fiercely, which in this close vicinity to the Barren Lands 
was nothing unusual. Later on, the ice came across 
the lake in such great force that we were compelled to 
haul our boat far up onto the shore ; and often floes of 
ice, many rods square, four and five feet thick, were sent 
thirty to forty feet upon the shore, by the great volume 
of ice that had gained such momentum that its force was 
almost irresistible. It took good generalship and plenty 
of muscle to prevent our boat fiiom being ground to pow- 
der by the great floes of ice that came together with ter- 
rific force at each unfavorable turn of the wand. Often 
we were obliged to jump out, one on each side of the boat 
with long levers, and as the great floes came together we 
would pry the boat out of the water and it rode high on 
the ice until a separation was effected. 

It took us just eight days to make six miles in the direc- 
tion of Fort Resolution. After all our hard work we were 
again frozen in solid at the end of our short progress, and 
were compelled to remain until the 6th of July, when a 
north wind with the velocity of a hurricane came, which 
broke up the ice and ground it to slush. 

The next morning we set a net across the mouth of a 
little stream, where, by taking poles and thrashing the 
water above, we so frightened them we secured twenty- 
four fine, large trout by that method. That was a happy 
day for us as here, seated on a large stone, we ate boiled 
fish and drank tea, — the best meal I ever enjoyed in my 
whole life. It was a happier day for the dogs, for they 
had not had a bite to eat for three long weeks, excepting 
what they may have foraged for themselves, which must 
have been almost nothing. It seems hardly credible that 
any animal could exist so long on the verge of actual star- 
vation, but such a condition is common to the arctic dogs, 
particularly those owned by Indians. 

Again that dreadful scourge, hydrophobia, made its ap- 



HYDROPHOBIA AGAIN 409 

pearance in our camp. That night our favorite leader, 
the dog " Sandy," became raving mad. He was a great 
favorite, and very valuable in that northern country. 
He was much more intelligent than any of the native 
dogs. Mr. Rea had ))een much attached to him for two 
years, and I knew he could never muster up sufficient 
courage to put him out of his misery. After the poor 
animal had howled all night long, preventing us from 
sleeping at all, I suggested to Mr. Rea that Sandy was 
certainly doomed, and asked him if I had not better take 
care of him. For a moment he was silent, but at last 
said, " Use your own judgment." I took my Winchester, 
went outside, found the dog lying down with his front 
legs stretched out before him, and his head in the air, 
howling most pitifully. I shot him just back of the ear. 
He did not struggle, but simply dropped his head on his 
paws, and in a moment he was dead. 

After breakfast, as we passed the body -of the poor fel- 
low on our way to the boat, I said to Mr. Rea, "We'll 
allow old Sandy to take a long 'spell,'" for we saw he 
was in the position he always assumed while resting. At 
my words Mr. Rea took a last look at the faithful animal, 
said nothing, but merely nodded his head. Sandy's death 
left us with only one train-dog and our last shepherd. 

After arranging our sails we launched the boat into the 
rough waves, and with a favorable wind went spinning 
through the water in earnest in the direction of Fort Res- 
olution. After having proceeded a hundred miles down 
the lake we arrived at an Indian camp, which was well 
provided with dry meat. We traded with its occupants 
for several hundred pounds, ])ut the men all tried to dis- 
courage us from proceeding alone on our hazardous jour- 
ney. The politic fellows evidently expected we would 
hire guides, but as we had been close observers on our ini- 
tial trip, we were determined to be our own pilots, as I 
had drawn a very accurate chart of the route. There are 
so many "blind pockets" and sunken reefs and rocks, 



410 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

that boats are easily dashed to pieces upon them. Per- 
haps, after all, the Indians were justified in their appar- 
ent concern for our safety, for there are thousands of 
islands between which a boat must make its tortuous 
passage, and it is a very difficult matter to get through 
them if one is not well acquainted with the proper 
channels. 

On these islands, and in the marshes between, as well 
as in the whole of that northern country, the mosquitoes 
and sandflies hold high carnival. The air is literally 
filled with them; it is impossible to open the mouth, or 
take a long breath, without inhaling swarms of them; 
and with no mosquito-bars, sleep is impossible. They 
even crawled under our blankets, up our sleeves and 
trousers-legs. They were certainly the most persistent 
insects of their kind I have ever seen anywhere, making 
life one continual torment. 

Referring to the clouds of sandflies and mosquitoes 
which annoyed us at times almost beyond the point of en- 
durance, I cannot refrain from quoting Capt. Back again. 
He gives the following vivid account of his experience : 

' ' "We suffered dreadfully from myriads of sandflies and 
mosquitoes, being so disfigured by their attacks that our 
features could scarcely be recognized. Horseflies, appro- 
priately styled 'bull-dogs,' were another dreadful pest, 
which pertinaciously gorged themselves like the leech 
until they seemed ready to burst. It is vain to attempt 
to defend ourselves against these puny blood-suckers ; 
though you crush thousands of them, tens of thousands 
arise to avenge the death of their companions. . . . 

' ' How can I possibly give an idea of the torment we 
endured from the sandflies 1 As we divided into the con- 
fined and suffocating ravines, or waded through the close 
swamps, they arose in clouds, actually darkening the air; 
to see or to speak was equally difficult, for they rushed at 
every undefended part, and fixed their poisonous fangs in 



CARNIVOROUS INSECTB 411 

an instant. Our faces streamed with lilood, as if leeches 
had been applied, and there was a burning and irritating 
pain, followed by immediate inflammation, and produc- 
ing giddiness, which almost drove us mad, and caused us 
to moan with pain and agony." 

The above is a truthful picture of our own l^attles with 
the insects described ; but Captain Back does not refer 
to the unutterable torments the animals of that region 
are subjected to, for his mission was entirely diflt'erent 
from that of ours. We were necessarily brought into 
contact with nearly every variety of mammals in that 
country, and despite our own sufferings in the particular 
referred to, we pitied the reindeer and moose, whose suf- 
ferings were only relieved at times by frantically rushing 
into the water, thus gaining a little respite from the at- 
tacks of the swarms of blood-suckers. The south shore, 
lined with the driftwood, dead grass and vegetation of 
the lake, seemed to be an ideal breeding-place for these 
insects. 

There is one thing very striking in the Northern coun- 
try : it appears like a newly made W'Orld. There is noth- 
ing that indicates age, excepting the stones, and even they 
look as if of recent formation. The trees north of Fort 
Smith and south of Great Slave lake all appear young 
and thrifty; none indicate old age, or dilapidation caused 
by the storms of time. Wherever the rivers cut through 
and make new channels, the banks show logs and sticks 
deposited thickly through the whole region, to a depth of 
twenty to thirty feet below the surface ; while north of 
the lake there is little or no soil. The surface is nothing 
but moss-covered rocks scattered over the country, except 
that occasionally in the valleys a little soil borders the 
edges of the streams and lakes. My opinion is that 
within a thousand years the Athabaska and Great Slave 
lakes will not be half as large as they are to-day. From 
the best information I could oljtain, and judging from re- 



412 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

cent marks at the water's edge of Great Slave lake, the 
lake has lowered fully three feet in the past ten years. 
Water-marks of relatively modern time can be plainly 
traced from twenty fo thirty feet above the lake's surface ; 
that is, east of the narrows, which once was a high ridge 
clear across. The logs, sticks, dirt and silt, that are 
hurled down the mountains and precipitated into the 
dashing waters throughout the vast expanse of country 
tributary to the Peace, Athabaska and other rivers, all go 
to the Athabaska and the south half of Great Slave lakes, 
whose waters are very muddy. This great accumulation 
of sediment is then cast ashore or settles to the bottom. 
This process is all the time building up more land. In 
fact, each year's encroachment of the land upon the great 
lakes' area is plain to be seen for many miles before reach- 
ing these lakes, evidenced by the age of the trees, by sap- 
lings and little sprouts and newly made land. The same 
is true of the Arctic ocean at the mouth of the Mackenzie 
river only ; while on other parts of the coast and shores 
of the inland lakes, as Artillery, Clinton Golden, Bear, 
and others, there has been no apparent change for ages. 
There is not an indication of the "made" land around 
their borders, — nothing, as a rule, but clean, sharp rocks, 
where the ever-dashing waves are .always rolling. 

The territory between Edmonton and Great Slave lake 
is one great wilderness. The forests are so dense that one 
can scarcely pass through them, owing to the fallen trees 
and underbrush. In many places a person is compelled 
to cut his way through with an axe. The country is hilly, 
rising in many places to the height of small mountains. 
The forests are largely composed of spruce-pines; they 
often grow to three feet in diameter, are very straight, 
and would make fine luml^er. White poplar comes next 
in amount. It seldom reaches half the diameter and 
height of the spruce. From the leaves and twigs of this 
tree the moose gather most of their provender, and the 
beaver thrive on the bark cut from the trunks with their 



ARRIVAL AT FORT RESOLUTION 413 

long sharp teeth. White birch is found throughout this 
region, and often trees grow two feet in diameter. Tama- 
racks abound in limited numbers in the swamps. They 
are small, and scarcely ever reach a foot in diameter. 
Where the shade from trees is not too dense, red raspber- 
ries, red currants, gooseberries, strawberries and susca- 
toons grow to perfection. I gathered all these fruits as 
far north as Great Slave lake, and red currants and cran- 
berries two hundred miles north of the Arctic Circle. The 
cranberries are found on a delicate vine that grows in the 
moss, and are so plentiful in some localities that they can 
be gathered by double-handfuls. 

We were now living like lords upon the dried meat which 
we had obtained from the Indians, and the weather con- 
tinuing fine, we experienced very little difficulty in our 
progress until the evening of the 13th of July. At that 
time, when only a short distance from Fort Resolution, a 
fearful tempest rose that drove our frail craft at a terrific 
rate, the white-caps of the angry waves pouring into it. Mr. 
Rea held on to the rudder with a firm grip, while I bailed 
vigorously, until we rounded a point and were in the lee 
of the land ; then the fort was in sight. The two or three 
buildings which constitute it were a wonderful exponent 
of civilization to us, when compared with the total absence 
of anything to which the term applies, during our long 
and sequestered absence, seemingly out of the world. In 
addition to the regular buildings, all of which are white- 
washed, we could see through our field-glasses a large num- 
ber of tents close to them, which reminded us of the 
"White City " at Chicago in 1893 ( World's Fair ). 

We sailed into the harbor, where were boats of every 
style and shape. On anchoring and going ashore we found 
a large delegation from the "White City," sure enough, 
some of whom proved to be memlDers of the Yukon Valley 
Mining Company, besides hundreds of others bound for 
Alaska. George Enderly was captain of the mining com- 
• 



414 FORTY YEAR8 OF ADVENTURES 

pany; T. V. Cannon, the commissary, and when upon 
their invitation I dined with them, I was convinced that 
those under his charge lived sumptuously. Charles B. 
Tapp, another of the members, was a musician, and had 
organized a fine orchestra. They were a jolly set of fel- 
lows. 

At this outpost we obtained all the news of the year 
past. The particulars of the recent gold discoveries in 
Alaska were here revealed to us. Our first talk was with 
a party from Nova Scotia. We asked them to tell us the 
principal events of the year. 

They answered, " Certainly. You know of the war be- 
tween the United States and Spain ? " 
" No. What is it ? " was my reply. 

"Well, the United States has been in a great war with 
the Spaniards, and licked them good." 

I asked who did the fighting for the United States, 
meaning, was it the regular army or volunteers ? Their 
answer was, "Oh, Dewey did the fighting." 

"Well, who is Dewey ? " was my eager inquiry. 
"Oh, Dewey is the fellow that whipped the Spaniards," 
was the reply. And that was about all I could find out 
until I met the Chicago boys, when I learned the particu- 
lars of the war up to May 15th. 

We made the acquaintance of many others bound for 
the new El Dorado; among whom was an interesting 
party from Paterson, N. J., — Herbert Davenport and 
brother, and Wm. Deane. The younger Mr. Davenport 
played the autoharp with exquisite taste, and otherwise 
entertained us with songs and music in right royal style. 
The sun had already dodged behind a small island in the 
far northwest, for the night. I knew it would soon slip out 
from the other end, and morning would be with us before 
we had time to sleep. I had scarcely closed my eyes for 
three days and nights, as the mosquitoes had been singing 
to me persistently, and insisting in "putting in their 
bills " for payment. Tired and weary, I soon sought my 



"sweetest mubic ever heard" 415 

blankets, dropped a new mosquito-bar just purchased, and 
was just dozing off into dreamland, when Messrs. Tapp and 
Davenport started their orchestra, beginning with a little 
Sunday-school song I had often heard, the chorus of which 
ran, " Sweetest music ever heard," etc. Just imagine the 
contrast in the music we had been compelled to listen to 
for a whole year 1 The sounds that had greeted our ears 
during that time were only those of the howling wolves, 
the snarling arctic dogs in their life-and-death struggles 
for the bones their masters had cast away simply because 
they themselves lacked maxillaries sufficiently i)owerful 
to crush them, and the diabolical, discordant yells of the 
savages at their incantations. Mr. Tapp played the cor- 
net, and his selections were of the highest order. The 
calm, cool air wafted the music across the bay, then re- 
turned it in a thousand melodious echoes. I can truth- 
fully testify that to me, under the circumstances, it was in 
reality "the sweetest music ever heard." It so startled 
and affected me that I was obliged to gather my reason- 
ing faculties in order to determine whether or not I had 
been transported into that other world "where the 
wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." 
I never before realized the vast difference between barbar- 
ism and the culture and refinement to which a civilized 
people are susceptible, until that music, in such a bar- 
barous country, met my ears. 

We remained at Fort Resolution until the 17th, receiv- 
ing, every day of our stay there, more invitations to break- 
fast, dinner, or tea, from the different mining outfits and 
from Mr. Nagle ( the trader at that place), than was pos- 
sible for us to accept. We never declined, excepting when 
previous engagements compelled us. We frequently dined 
with the young gentlemen from New Jersey, who had 
brought with them an abundance of preserved peaches for 
which their native State is noted, together with Califor- 
nia canned fruit, which, after our monotonous diet, we 
realished beyond expression. 



416 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

While we were at the fort, several delegations en route 
for the gold-fields of Alaska arrived from the States, and 
were heartily welcomed with appropriate songs and orches- 
tral music. Whenever a boat arrived at a point where it 
should turn into the harbor, the cornet played that beau- 
tiful refrain, "Pull for the shore," and then everybody 
present would join in and make the very hills ring with 
the chorus. The effect on those in the boats approach- 
ing was inspiring, and the brawny arms of the oarsman 
rowed in time to the music. On the evening previous to 
our departure a grand banquet was given us, by the miners 
and citizens. We had a delightful time, with the excep- 
tion of a call upon me for a speech, which was impossible 
for me to decline. I was like the beaver that "had to 
dim))," — I had to speak. 

Fort Resolution is the first place on the route where 
miners' laws are in force (as they make their laws them- 
selves), because the place is beyond the jurisdiction of 
the mounted police or of any other civil or military tribu- 
nals. While we were there an interesting suit was sub- 
mitted to a jury of six, and was disposed of satisfactorily. 
The miners' code is, "Equality before the law." This 
"high court of justice" is always ready, in all the min- 
ing districts beyond courts of justice, night or day, to 
listen to any grievance that may exist in the community. 
Although harsh to the offender, the effect inspires evil- 
doers to deeds of righteousness, and might be adopted 
with good effect in many localities where the laws are ad- 
ministered in a farcical manner. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA 

"total darkness" and " EVEELASTING day " — EXTREME 

TEMPERATURE OF EACH MONTH — PRECIPITATION TWELVE 

DEGREES BELOW ZERO IN THE CABIN BEFORE A ROUSING 
FIRE — IRON OR STEEL WAS SO COLD IT COULD NOT BE 
TOUCHED WITH SAFETY — BRILLIANT DISPLAYS OF AURORA 
B0REALI8 — TWO VARIETIES GRAPHICALLY DESCRIBED — 
WONDERFUL PARHELIA ( MOCK SUNS ) — ICE UPHEAVAL 
ON THE GREAT LAKES. 

THE meteorological phenomena of the Arctic region 
are its most interesting feature. The intensity 
of the cold in " The Land of the Midnight Sun " 
is something hardly conceivable by those who live 
where the thermometer never falls more than forty de- 
grees below zero. During the short summer of nearly 
three months, when the sun for nearly half that time is 
constantly above the horizon, the mean temperature is 
about sixty above zero ; sinking to thirty-five above when 
the sun reaches its lowest point. During three months of 
the long nine months of winter, nearly one and a half 
months of that time the sun is constantly below the hori- 
zon ; then comes the intense cold of the Arctic night. 

Excepting the period of the constant appearance of the 
sun above the horizon and its disappearance below, it 
rises and sets every day. The time from the first appear- 
ance (or sunrise) above the horizon, after the long night, 
to that point where it disappears (or sunset), is so short 
that the change from daylight to darkness is very rapid. 

— 27 (417) 



418 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

As the distance of the point from sunrise to sunset in- 
creases or decreases from day to day, the continuance of 
sunlight or darkness of course increases correspondingly ; 
so that the day or night proper varies gradually from one 
minute in length to forty days of twenty-four hours each. 

The above phenomena of the varying length of the day 
and night apply to the most northerly region we attained 
( two hundred miles within the Arctic Circle). Of course, 
north of us to the very Pole the day and night materially 
increase in length, while south of us the reverse is the 
case. 

The lowest temperature experienced by us during our 
sojourn in the north was at Fort Reliance, on the morn- 
ing of the 9th of January, when the thermometer regis- 
tered sixty-eight degrees below zero. 

It would require too much space to present in tabulated 
form all the variations of temperature during the whole 
period of my absence from the United States. I there- 
fore submit only that of the coldest and warmest day in 
each month, for a period of eight and a half months of 
winter. I commenced keeping a meteorological record at 
Fort Reliance, on the 1st of October, 1897. My instru- 
ment was a spirit Fahrenheit thermometer, registering to 
eighty below zero. It was hung against the logs on the 
south side of our cabin, the only place in which it could 
be put, there being not even a tree in the vicinity from 
which to suspend it. It could not be detached from the 
building, on account of the wind. Of course there must 
have been considerable radiation from the heat inside the 
building, and my figures are merely approximate to the 
real temperature. 

When on our hunt after musk-oxen we carried a ther- 
mometer suspended under the curved neck of our carryall. 

The first time the thermometer indicated zero was at 
Fort Reliance, at sunrise on the morning of the 10th of 
October ; at noon on the 2d it registered forty-two above, 
the warmest day of the month. ^ On the morning of the 



TEMPi^RATURES AT FORT RELIANCE 419 

30th, twenty-one below; November 29th, forty-eight be- 
low ; the 9th was the warmest day, sixteen above at noon. 
December 14th, fifty-three below ; the warmest day the 
10th, nine above. The coldest day was January 9th, six- 
ty-eight degrees below; the warmest day, 28th, ten below. 
Feljriiary 16th, fifty-nine below; the warmest day the 2d, 
six above. March 17th, forty-one below; the warmest 
day the 20th, forty-nine above at noon. April 18th, 
twelve below; the warmest on the 5th, fifty above. May 
10th, nine above; the warmest on the 29th, seventy-five 
above. Here my record ends, with the exception of fif- 
teen days' observation in June, the coldest day of which 
was the 14th, thirteen above; the warmest on the 5th, 
seventy-three al)ove. I have thus covered the larger por- 
tion of the year, which to those interested will furnish an 
approximately correct record of the temperature of that 
region . 

The total amount of snow which fell during the eight 
months and a half, in which I kept as careful a record as 
possible, was four feet seven and one-half inches ; and 
the greatest depth in any one day was seven inches, on the 
eleventh of June. 

Referring to Captain Back's journey again, he says, al- 
luding to the subject of temperature : " Such, indeed, was 
the abstraction of heat, that with eight large logs of dry 
wood on the fire, I could not get the thermometer higher 
than twelve degrees below zero. The skin of the hands 
became dry, cracked and opened into unsightly and smart- 
ing gashes, which we were obliged to anoint with grease. 
On one occasion, after washing my face within three feet 
of the fire, my hair was actually clotted with ice before I 
had time to dry it." 

Captain Back further states that "the hunters suffered 
severely from the intensity of the cold, and compared 
the sensation of handling their guns to that of touching 
red-hot iron ; and so excessive was the pain that they 
were obliged to wrap thongs of leather around the trig- 



420 FORTY YEARB OF ADVENTURES 

gers to keep their fingers from coming in contact with 
the steel." 

Mr. Rea and myself experienced the same sensation in 
handling our weapons during the intensely cold weather, 
as that related by Captain Back. Not only was this con- 
fined to metal, but our wooden axe-handles, which had 
been lying out of doors, seemed to burn us. In touch- 
ing the trigger of my rifle, the same feeling was experi- 
enced. Several times while out hunting, my trigger-finger 
and those by which I grasped the trigger-guard were 
badly frosted. In order to prevent such an occurrence 
again, I constructed a finger on my mitten, wearing 
another mitten over it, which I pulled off when I fired. 
We were obliged to keep our hair and whiskers cropped 
short, as icicles formed on them in great masses, caused 
from our breath, and steam from the heat of our bodies. 

There is a variety of celestial phenomena in the far 
North. I had often witnessed displays of the aurora in 
lower latitudes when a boy in my eastern home, and 
imagined that it made its appearance only during the 
coldest weather; the more intense the cold, the more 
brilliant the phenomenon. In the high latitude where 
we were, it was not at all at the time of lowest tem- 
perature that the display was the finest ; in fact, during 
some of the coldest nights, there was not the faintest 
" streamer " visible. 

The most brilliant and wonderfully beautiful visitation 
of the aurora that it has ever been my fortune to witness, 
occurred on the evening of the 15th of August, 1897, 
while floating down Slave river in my boat, about fifty 
miles south of its entrance into Great Slave lake. The 
spectacle was so sublime and av/e-inspiring, language 
fails to properly convey to the reader an idea of its mag- 
nificence. It commenced about eleven o'clock at night; 
the wind blowing freshly from the northeast. I almost 
fancied that this gorgeous display in the heavens, so glo- 
rious in its sublimity, was made for my special vision. 



THE AURORA BOREALIS 421 

Suddenly, brilliant and many-hued "streamers" began 
to form in the southwest, gradually expanding in length 
until they reached the zenith ; laterals at the same mo- 
ment stretched across the whole breadth of the firmament. 
The great cloud of red glowed with the intensity of incan- 
descent hydrogen. As I gazed on it I could not help 
comparing it to the traditional pillar of fire recorded in 
Holy Writ, which guided the children of Israel through 
the desert. Not only did the color simulate the brilliancy 
of the glow of the ignited gas above referred to, but there 
was a constant play running through all the shades of the 
solar spectrum. The compact form of the phenomenon 
did not last more than thirty minutes, when it gradually 
unfolded in graceful festoons, one below the other, at a 
distance of about two degrees apart, stretching across the 
whole heavens like the most exquisite drapery, which 
gathered in a plaiting at the top, drooped into radiating 
folds at the bottom. These beautifully variegated cur- 
tains appeared in three separate pieces : the top of the 
first was tinged with gray, blending gradually into all 
the colors known to art ; the second increasing in its 
marvelous play of shading ; while the lower one, if possi- 
ble, exceeded the others in brilliance. They moved rap- 
idly against the wind, passing directly over me as I stood 
entranced by the glorious spectacle, seemingly so near 
that I might have touched them. The rapid change of 
the many colors which marked the folds as they passed 
over, simulated a rich changeable silk dress of some society 
queen, as its wearer passes under the most brilliant elec- 
trical illumination of the ball-room. For more than an 
hour the glorious vision floated in the air, in swift motion 
like the most graceful figures of the serpentine dance. 

I frequently witnessed other displays of the aurora dur- 
ing the long winter of 1897-8, but their appearance was 
marked in its difference from this. They usually ap- 
peared like molten fire at the center, then radiated off 
like a thin cloud extending across the heavens, with 



422 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

flashing points in all directions, which quickly receded to 
a common center. They were beautiful, it is true; but 
nothing comparable to the one I have attempted to de- 
scribe, had ever before or since been seen by me. 

Frequently the most brilliant "sun-dogs," or "mock 
suns," (so-called colloquially, but known as parhelia in 
scientific parlance,) occurred. I witnessed one of these 
phenomena on the 4th of December. This was one of 
the very rare double parhelia — four "mock suns," in- 
stead of two. They were so brilliant that it would have 
been a difficult matter to distinguish the false from the 
true, did not one know that the mock suns are ahvays on 
each side of the real. 

Referring to the aurora again : It has been asserted by 
some explorers that there is sometimes a cTackling noise 
accompanying its display, but I have never heard it. I 
have, however, distinctly heard a crunching sound at the 
time of its appearance, but I am certain it was caused by 
ice forming on the lakes ; it was so loud that frequently 
it resembled distant thunder. That it proceeded from 
the ice, I am satisfied, because I often saw, during the 
absence of the aurora, great masses of ice, sometimes ex- 
tending for twenty miles, thrown up in the similitude of 
the roof of a house, ranging in height from five to seven 
feet; and the accompanying noise was like that heard at 
the time of an auroral display. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

INDIANS AND ESKIMOS OF THE FAR NORTH. 

GREATLY DIFFERENT FROM THE INDIANS OF THE UNITED 
BTATEB — MODE OF LIVING IN THE LAND OF DARKNESS — 
THE WOMEN ARE SLAVES — THESE INDIANS NEVER EAT 
FRUIT, VEGETABLES, OR BREAD — MEAT AND FISH THEIR 
ONLY DIET — THE MARRIAGE RELATION — NUMBER OF 
TRIBES IN THE FAR NORTH, AND THEIR LOCATIONS — 
THEIR HABITS AND DWELLINGS — DEGREE OF INTELLI- 
GENCE — ENORMOUSLY SUPERSTITIOUS — THEIR TRADI- 
TIONAL HISTORY OF THE FLOOD — SKILL IN FORETELLING 
STORMS — NO DISEASE AMONG THEM UNTIL THE WHITE 
MAN CAME — THE "HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH " — EDU- 
CATION RUINS ALL THAT TRY IT. 

THERE is the widest variance in the characteristics, 
l)oth mental and physical, of the northern In- 
dians from those of their race on the great South- 
ern Plains. The former, like the inhabitants of 
Siberia, are exiles, having been driven by force into the 
desolate region they now occupy. The northern tribes 
are lacking in that defiant and warlike spirit which pre- 
vails among their southern kinsman. They are neither 
naturally vicious, -delighting in bloodshed and brave in 
battle, nor imbued with that pride and independence 
which is such a marked trait among the savages of the 
interior of the continent. They are the most consummate 
beggars, elevating it to an art, as sympathetic as that 

(423) 



424 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

which characterizes the methods of the professional men- 
dicants of the advanced civilization of our great cities. 
They are ever humble in the presence of the dominant 
white race, never attempting to arrogate to themselves 
that spirit of superiority always assumed by the Sioux, 
Cheyennes, Kiowas, or Comanches. 

They are always asking for food from the whites with 
whom they come in contact, no matter how much they 
may have stored in the shape of provisions. They com- 
mence to beg, the moment the ceremony of shaking hands 
is gone through with, which is invariably accompanied by 
the assertion: "Dennie, .bur hula" ("Indian, meat 
none "). If they have reason to believe you have tobacco 
or tea, which they inordinately crave, they always declare 
they have none. Giving to them does not by any means 
end with the act : you are sure to be visited by the whole 
of the tribe who may happen to be in the neighborhood of 
your camp, and these are more persistent in their claim 
for alms than were the original callers. 

They possess, however, some commendable traits, which 
could be emulated at times by the dominant white race 
to its advantage. They will divide their last morsel of 
food with each other, and none are allowed to go hun- 
gry BO long as there is a bite left in the village. I have seen 
them so fearfully in want of something to eat that they 
would watch for a dog to scratch up a bit he had buried 
for future use, and choke him until he dropped it on the 
ground, when they would divide it among those who 
stood about them. If one Indian has anything, they all 
have, which proves that they are as free from selfishness 
as they are from cleanliness. 

They do not live in houses, but in teepees, made of 
tanned hides of reindeer. These hides are usually perfo- 
rated, the holes being about the size of a large lead- 
pencil, made by a grub that hatches from eggs deposited 
just under the skin on the living animal by a fly, as is 
sometimes the case with our domestic cattle. These holes 



HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE NORTHERN INDIANS 425 

in the covering of their lodges provide excellent ventila- 
tion, — which, however, is not at all necessary in that cold 
country. Their fire is built in the center of the teepee, 
the same as in the lodge of a southern Indian, but they 
do not appear to have a proper idea of a draft as do the 
latter, by an apparatus affixed to the top ; the northern 
Indians effecting it by raising the lower ends of the skins 
forming the walls of their houses. Their seats are boughs 
of trees, or the natural floor of earth ; but they sometimes 
use reindeer-skin mats. 

The mode of reclining, on the part of the men, is to 
double up their legs like a tailor on his bench ; while the 
women throw theirs Imck, as did the Romans while eat- 
ing. None of the inhabitants of a lodge stand up for any 
length of time ; as the smoke which rolls above in clouds 
about four feet from the floor would asphixiate them. As 
a means of entrance and exit from the teepee, a hole is 
made at one side, and covered with a large deerskin, at 
the bottom of which a stick is sewed to hold it in posi- 
tion ; its top merely fastened by a hide string from the 
wall of the teepee above the opening. In these rude 
lodges they dwell, even when the thermometer ranges 
from sixty to seventy degrees below zero. 

Those who have been successful in hunting and are pos- 
sessed of a sufficient amount of furs, clothe themselves 
similar to white people, often traveling many hundreds 
of miles to trade their furs to the white men for such 
goods as they bring into the country. In winter they 
wear capotes, or frock coats made of the skin of the rein- 
deer with the hair on, having a hood attached to cover the 
head, all in one piece. The children under eight years 
old have long sleeves, which are sewed up at the ends so 
they cannot get their hands wet and freeze them during 
the long marches they are sometimes compelled to make 
in moving from one place to another. The poorer classes, 
however, have to content themselves with the same rude 
earb of skins in the summer which they wore in the win- 



426 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

ter ; but by that time, the hair having been completely 
rubbed off, the garment is a trifle cooler. 

It is a common thing for the people to take down their 
lodges in the dead of winter and march one or two hun- 
dred miles to where the deer are more plentiful. 

The women are virtually slaves. They do all the work, 
as well as drive the dog teams ; while their lords do noth- 
ing but pretend to look for game. When the village is 
moved, the men are promj^tly on hand the moment the 
women have erected the lodges and a brisk fire is burning 
inside. 

The children are carried, wrapped in furs, on the backs 
of their mothers, until they are three or^four years of age. 
Often I have seen them as large as some of our American 
school children, being carried in such fashion. They 
sometimes make life hideous, as they resist being loaded 
and carried in such a cramped position ; and kick their 
mother until allowed to nurse at her breast. They are so 
unruly, the mothers are often compelled to crawl over 
slippery ice on their hands and knees, for fear of losing 
their balance from the struggling of the children, in their 
fits of anger. They reminded me of a large pig which I 
once endeavored to carry on horseback. 

These Indians seldom, if ever, get a taste of bread, 
fruit, or vegetables, and when they do, regard them as 
the greatest luxury. A simple biscuit is a rare treat for 
them. 

In religion they are generally claimed by the Catholics, 
but some have been taught the Protestant faith. I am 
inclined to think, however, that they have but a limited 
idea of holy things, save what has been impressed upon 
them by the traditions of the tribe, — that after death, 
for good Indians, there is a "Great Spirit" and a 
"happy hunting-ground." Many of them may be seen 
to cross themselves and mutter some "pater" or "ave" 
on a Sabbath morning, after which the men take their 
guns and go hunting, or occupy the remainder of the day 



THE DIFFERENT TRIBES 427 

in their usual routine of idleness. Many of them pay an 
annual visit to the Catholic priest stationed at some Hud- 
son Bay Company's post, to have their record of wicked- 
ness for the past year wiped out. They marry and are 
given in marriage, but are never divorced, and as far as I 
can learn are considered virtuous ; but this applies only 
to those who have remained in their primitiveness and 
remote from civilization. There are many widows and 
orphans among the tribes. The widows never marry 
again, and it is the duty of their relations to take care of 
them ; but I noticed they were compelled to perform most 
of the menial work required. 

These people seldom wash themselves, and are there- 
fore exceedingly filthy, greasy, and swarming with vermin. 
They are very deceitful, and never pay a debt if they can 
by any means avoid it. They are very cunning in their 
transactions with the whites, and unless one is familiar 
with their methods, he is certain to be outwitted in any 
compact entered into with them. 

A half-dozen or more tribes occupy the frozen region 
beyond the Athabaska lake, as follows: The Chippeway- 
ans, who range as far north as Great Slave lake ; the Slave 
tribe, located along the western shore of that sheet of 
water and the Slave river; the Yellow Knife tribe has 
possession of the east end of the lake, and they range as 
far in that direction as the river Doobaunt, and north- 
ward to the Clinton Golden lake. The Dog-rib tribe roam 
at will over the country east of the Mackenzie river, and 
between the Great Slave and Great Bear lakes. All hunt 
the musk-ox east and west of Clinton Golden lake, while 
some have ventured as far north as the Great Fish river. 
All the tribes fear the Eskimos, and always avoid them if 
possible, — especially during the summer, when the Eski- 
mos come farther south than at any other season of the 
year. In winter the Indians roam everywhere at will. 
All understand the Slave tribe language, and converse in 
it whenever people of different tribes meet. 



428 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Strange as it may appear, these Indians have no chiefs 
among them, but there are always to be fomid men of su- 
perior ability to the masses, who are looked up to for 
counsel. The Dog-rib tribe has a pretended chief, but 
his power is so limited he has little claim to the title. 

The bark of the l)irch tree is quite an important article 
in their domestic economy. Buckets are made from it, in 
which to carry water, the seams and knot-holes being 
sealed wp with gum from spruce trees ; and their beauti- 
ful canoes and many other articles are constructed from 
the same light material. 

Their habits in eating are most disgusting. The meat 
and fish, their only food, are usually boiled, in which pro- 
cess they use sheet-iron pots. The flesh is allowed to cook 
until the blood no longer runs from it ; it is then emptied 
on a tin or birch-bark plate, when each individual seizes 
a large piece with the left hand, placing one corner of 
it between the teeth, and mouthful after mouthful is 
cut off with a huge butcher-knife until he is gorged. 
This is the customary manner of eating which all Indians, 
whether northern or southern, with whom I have come 
in contact, employ. They are capable of consuming twice 
as much meat and drinking three times as much tea^ as a 
white man, at a single sitting. Some writers claim the 
Indian has no particular time for eating : this is a mis- 
take, as they do have a time, and that time is cdl the time, 
so long as they have anything to eat. Both men and 
women are inveterate smokers, after once having learned 
the habit, providing tobacco can bo had. They often use 
willow bark ( " kinnikinnick " ), when tobacco is not ob- 
tainable. 

The principal weapon of these Indians is a small 28-cal- 
iber shotgun, using a ball for large game; a few possess 

1 Cofifee is unknown to the Indians of the far North, but they all know what tea is, 
and drink great quantities of it when they can get it. I often gave them a cup of 
coffee, and they almost invariably would say, "Nazzula" ( no good). On inquiry at 
the Hudson Bay Company's posts on my return home, I was informed the company 
never sent coffee to that country, but always send abundance of tea, as it is light, and 
more easily transported. 



INDIAN CHARACTERISTICS 429 

small 44-caliber Winchester rifles. When meat cannot 
readily be procured, they resort to the lakes and set nets 
for fish. In winter they are frequently compelled to cut 
holes in the ice ( which is often four to seven feet thick ) , 
in order to permit the introduction of a net into the 
water below. They also catch an immenee number of 
trout during the winter with a simple hook and line, 
baited with morsels of whitefish. 

In summer the male reindeer becomes very fat. The 
Indians lie in wait at the accustomed crossing-places of 
that animal, at the rivers and lakes, where from their 
birch-bark canoes they spear them in great numbers. 
The redskins regard this as right royal sport, while in 
reality it is most barbarous, simply showing the innate 
savage instinct. A true hunter would scorn any such 
brutal method. In accordance with a superstitious tra- 
dition of the tribe, their first act after killing a deer — 
or any other animal, in fact — is to split open the breast. 
If a bird is shot, a handful of feathers is plucked from 
the same part of its anatomy, and tossed into the air. I 
could never clearly divine the reason for this, but believe 
it to be for "good luck." 

Among the Yellow Knife tribe I met one aged squaw 
who must have been over a hundred years old. Her figure 
was bent half-way to the ground, and she always lagged for 
hours behind the rest of her people, when on the march. 
Some day, not very remote in the future, she will fail to 
reach camp, and perish miserably by the wayside. 

Some of the men are able to write so as to be under- 
stood by other Indians, but their chirography is merely a 
system of pictographs or hieroglyphics which an ordinary 
white man cannot decipher. 

They are rather epicurean in their tastes, viewed from 
a savage standpoint. Their most luxurious dishes are 
the heads of Inrds, beasts and fishes, and the unborn 
young of animals. The women and children are rarely 



430 FOETY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

permitted to indulge in these savory morsels, the men 
reserving them for themselves. 

I often invited them to partake of dishes served at our 
table, consisting of vegetables, canned fruits, puddings, 
etc., which they would eat, of course; but it was very 
evident they did not like them, for when I would ask 
them what they thought of these varieties of food, they 
would flatly say, " Nazzula" (no good), and ask for grease 
with which to complete their meal. 

It is not astonishing that the appetite for fatty sub- 
stances is so great in the remote North, for, as is well 
known, the human body is but a furnace, whose heat 
must be kept up, and requires that food which contains 
the greatest amount of carbon. 

It makes little difference to the natives whether what 
they consume is half dirt and sand, or not, and meat 
turned partially green is seized with avidity. 

The superstitions of the Northern Indians are as firmly 
rooted in their nature as are the giant redwood trees of 
California to Mother Earth. It would be useless to try 
to teach them otherwise in one short year, so I never at- 
tempted it. If the children were isolated from their 
parents, these traditional ideas would soon be eliminated 
from their susceptible minds. I have seen parents gather 
a group of their little ones and half -grown Indians around 
them, and for hours at a time relate stories concerning 
the origin of the different animals ; that they were com- 
pelled to eat several kinds of food ; and the extent to 
which man was permitted to kill the various beasts and 
birds of their country. They have been taught by tradi- 
tion many things which in a measure corroborate history, 
both sacred and profane ; yet the details are in wide va- 
riance from those of our own language and belief. 

One lovely day in May I heard an old Indian, La Pierre, 
who was considered the head of the Yellow Knife tribe, 
teaching a group of children, who were seated on a beau- 
tiful carpet of moss. He was narrating to them a story. 



INDIAN LEGEND OF THE FLOOD 481 

similar to that of the flood, yet vastly different in char- 
acters and circumstances. As near as I could understand, 
the story ran something like this : 

Many, many years ago, the birds and beasts were fight- 
ing for supremacy. They fought great battles, and the 
beasts were always victorious. Finally the birds had a 
big talk among themselves, and agreed to adopt a new 
method of warfare. The eagle and the crane were sent to 
intercede with the Great Spirit, and implore him to with- 
hold the rain until vegetation was all dead, and thus 
starve the beasts into subjection. They made the ascent 
by continually circling upward, for one moon. From that 
time on, the rain did not fall until all the vegetation had 
died, and the animals were without food. They too would 
have died of thirst, had not the Great Bad Spirit caught 
a beaver, and, laying its tail on a flat rock, took another 
rock and pounded it until it was flat. And from that 
time until this, the beaver's tail has retained that shape. 

The Great Bad Spirit told him to make a dam, from 
sticks and stones, and to use his tail as a trowel and plas- 
ter it with mud. This he did, and thus a reservoir was 
formed that furnished water for the beasts. But the ani- 
mals could not live on water alone, and many died of 
hunger. The fish were all dead excepting those in the 
reservoir, and the animals would not let the fish-eating 
birds come near it. At last things became desperate, and 
the loon rebelled, and cried mightily for rain. The 
Great Good Spirit bent his ear to listen. Then came the 
rain in torrents. It was in the spring of the year. The 
ice on the reservoir had melted from the shores, and as 
the rain came down, the water washed from the hills, 
great stones upon the ice. As soon as the beasts saw that 
a great flood had come, some of all kinds congregated on 
the ice, and thus floated without seeing land, for two 
moons. The rocks w'ere so wet that moss grew on those 
that had lodged on the ice, and the animals ate it and 
lived. Finally the raven left, the ice for one whole 



432 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

day, and came back with a piece of reindeer meat in his 
mouth. Then the animals knew that the flood had nearly- 
subsided. Finally the ice, on which the beasts and birds 
had lived together with all differences forgotten, lodged 
against the rocks, on which there was only moss, and 
from that time to this, that land has been a barren waste, 
with only moss as vegetation. While the animals and 
birds were upon the ice, the musk-ox was chosen king of 
all, and where it goes, all the other animals are in duty 
bound to follow for protection. The musk-ox under- 
stands all animals, also the Indians, who must always 
address that animal if they are compelled to kill one for 
food, as it can intercede with the Great Spirit for or 
against them. Therefor^ the little Indians ("yahzas," 
as they are called ) are taught to reverence the musk- 
oxen, and to speak geiitly to them. That when an Indian 
observes this rule, no harm will ever visit him or his 
children. 

He told them that the loon's cry was a sure predic- 
tion of rain, and when it was heard they must put up 
the " napola " ( tent ) , as the rain was at hand ; and when 
the eagles and cranes soared high, dry weather would cer- 
tainly ensue. 

Those little savages listened with awe, their eyes wide- 
open in wonder, and they stood like statues as the old 
patriarch related his marvelous story, much as do our 
own children, cast in a more refined mold, when listening 
to the nursery tales of Cinderella, Jack the Giant-Killer, 
or Aladdin. 

I regret that I did not record more of the details. As 
silly as the recitals were, underneath all there may be 
much that would do for comparative philology what the 
folk-lore of other barbarous peoples has, and in the far 
North there is a field in this particular worthy of inves- 
tigation by the philologist. Could I have understood all 
the details of their narrations at various times, I could 
fill a volume of most interesting folk-lore. 



ESKIMOS 433 

It is wonderful how accurately the Northern Indians 
are able to foretell the weather by the actions of birds and 
beasts. They would tell us what the weather would be, 
some two or three days in advance, and I never knew 
them to fail in their predictions. The loon's cry, we 
found, was a sure barometer, when rain was to be ex- 
pected. Dry weather is indicated by the flight of cranes 
and eagles, when they soar high, in circles. Before a 
storm, in winter or summer, the reindeer are continually 
on the move in the valleys, but in dry weather they are 
seen resting contentedly on the hillsides. 

I met many Eskimos during my journey in the North. 
They are a very short, heavy-set race, with flat noses and 
high cheek-bones. They resemble the Chinese in many 
particulars : in size, color, appearance of the eyes, and 
other racial features. They very rarely see a white man, 
therefore such as never mingled with the palefaces have 
never learned what whisky and tobacco are. They are ac- 
quainted with but few of the deceits practiced by those 
Indians who have been associated with the whites. They 
are the very impersonation of robust health, never hav- 
ing been contaminated by those diseases common among 
the Indians who have come in contact with unscrupu- 
lous white men. 

The mortality among the tribes seems to be evenly bal- 
anced by the births ; so there is no increase, or it is at 
least scarcely appreciable for a long period. The general 
health of the tribes, notwithstanding the filthy habits of 
individuals, is excellent. Until recently there were no 
contagious diseases, and were it not for their insufficient 
shelter, lack of proper clothing, and scarcity of food, 
they would probably increase in a ratio comparable to 
other peoples. Since the great inrush to the gold-fields 
of Alaska, the grip, measles, whooping-cough and mumps 
have been carried there, and no doubt will spread 
throughout that whole Northern country ; and owing to 
their lack of medicines, comfortable shelter, and cloth- 
— 28 



434 FORTY YEAE8 OF ADVENTURES 

ing, many will be carried off by these diseases in that 
fitful climate. 

Heretofore they have never been troubled with disease, 
and their lot has certainly been a happy one, excepting 
when out of food, — for to them, "where ignorance is 
bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." They are as simple as were 
Adam and Eve in the Garden before touching the for- 
bidden fruit. It is a falsely directed sympathy that sug- 
gests the sending of missionaries among them. While the 
advocates of such measures are entirely honest in their 
intentions, yet in their ignorance of the real status of 
those remote Northern people, they do not realize that 
such action would only bring misery and trouble where 
absolute happiness reigns supreme. 

Let them alone I Do not disturb them in their inno- 
cence. They are infinitely happier than the Indians in 
some other portions of the far North, where they have 
been broken uj) into different grades of civilization by 
missionary schools. It is almost universally the case 
that the partially educated Indians there have come to be 
lazy, good-for-nothing, starving beggars ; while the girls 
are of the same disposition, and almost invariably become 
prostitutes. There is no opportunity for them to obtain 
a subsistence, excepting they join their tribe again, which 
they never do. They appear to be too good or too ten- 
der to associate with their kindred. They neither hunt 
nor fish for a living, but lie around the posts, starving 
themselves and their families. An Indian or Eskimo 
who has never been spoiled by missionary educators, is a 
thousand times better off than those who have been petted 
and taught some of the white man's cunning ways. 

I do not write this from any prejudice toward any sect 
or church, as I always encourage missionary work with 
my dimes and dollars. But I would say to all lovers of 
Christianity, invest your money and exercise your talents 
in some other direction ; and let all the Indians and Es- 
kimos that governments are not ready to entirely support, 



NATIVES SHOULD BE LET ALONE 435 

go their way in peace, — excepting those tribes that are 
able to at least help sustain themselves in a country sus- 
ceptible to agriculture. If Indians and Eskimos have 
existed, as we certainly know they have, from a period 
which antedates the white man's advent into North 
America, they can and surely will, if let alone, take care 
of themselves in the future as in the past. When the last 
of the reindeer and musk-oxen have passed out of exist- 
ence, and the fish have disappeared from the lakes and 
oceans ; when the whale, walrus and seal are no more, 
and the governments gather in the waifs to feed and 
clothe them, or they have been deported to a more sunny 
clime to follow civilized pursuits, then and not before, will 
it be time to school and preach to these far-away happy 
souls. 

To be sur^e, there are times when starvation stares the 
Indians and Eskimos in the face, and then they are of all 
men most miserable. At such times missionaries and 
education are to them of no avail. To ameliorate the 
condition of these poor creatures, I would suggest to 
those who desire to help them, send them good guns 
and ammunition. If they were thus provided and 
equipped, such occurrences as we witnessed in November, 
1897, and the condition described by Capt. Back, would 
seldom be known. 

Capt. Back, whose admirable journal I have referred to 
above, says, in writing of the miserable condition of the 
inhabitants of the region after their eatables had become 
exhausted : 

"As the winter advanced, bands of starving Indians 
continued to arrive, in the hope of obtaining some relief, 
as little or nothing was to be procured ])y hunting. 
They would stand around while the men were taking their 
meals, watching every mouthful with the most longing, 
imploring look, but yet never uttering a complaint. 

"At other times they would, seated around the fire, 



436 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

occupy themselves in roasting and devouring small bits 
of their reindeer garments, which, even when entire, af- 
forded them a very insufficient protection against a tem- 
perature of 102° below freezing-point. 

" Famine, with her gaunt and bony arm, pursued them 
at every turn, withered their energies, and strewed them 
lifeless on the cold bosom of the snow. Often I did share 
my own plate with the children, whose helpless fate and 
piteous cries were peculiarly distressing. Compassion 
for the full-grown may or may not be felt, but that heart 
must be cased in steel which is insensible to the cry of a 
child for food." 

I have interpolated thus much of Capt. Back's report, 
to confirm my own statements. Our experience among 
them was the same as his in every particular, excepting 
that anything he asked from the Indians was cheerfully 
granted if possible ; while to us it was denied in almost 
every instance, and we were opposed at all points by their 
hostility to our mission. Capt. Back doubtless suppressed, 
as I have, a great deal that would be too revolting and 
shock the sensibilities of a refined civilization. The facts, 
however, prove that history repeats itself, as well among 
the savages as in the most enlightened race, and that the 
unerring law of heredity is as strongly marked in the one 
as in the other. 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

HOMEWARD BOUND 

CAUGHT IN A STORM ON THE GREAT INLAND SEA — RUDDER 
BREAKS AND WAVES ROLL OVER THEIR SMALL CRAFT — 
AN ACCOMPANYING BOAT IS CAPSIZED AND DASHED UPON 
THE ROCKS — ON THE GREAT MACKENZIE RIVER — FORT 
PROVIDENCE — CATHOLIC PRIEST WHO NEEDS ATTENTION 

— VISIT TO FORT FRANKLIN ON THE GREAT BEAR LAKE 

— A DESOLATE SPECTACLE — PICTURE OF SIR JOHN FRANK- 
LIN 's OLD CABIN HURLED THROUGH THE RAMPARTS 

CROSS THE ARCTIC CIRCLE — PHOTOGRAPH OF THE CHURCH 
AT FORT GOOD HOPE — A SAIL ON THE ARCTIC OCEAN — 
UP reel's river to rat river, where HUNDREDS 
WERE CAUGHT IN A HUMAN DEADFALL — MOUNTAINS CUT 
THEM OFF FROM THE GOLDEN EL DORADO — NEW ROUTE 
ACROSS THE DIVIDE — SHOOTING DOWN THE CASCADES ON 
THE WATERS OF THE PACIFIC — BOAT SMASHED ON A 
ROCK — LONG JOURNEY DOWN THE PORCUPINE RIVER — 
JOURNEY TO ST. MICHAEL's — EQUINOCTIAL STORM ON 
BERING SEA — SEATTLE REACHED — GRAND RECEPTION — 
EVERYBODY SANG, " MY COUNTRY, 'tIS OF THEE " AND 
"home, sweet HOME," 

ON Sunday evening, July 17th, the sun was far 
around to the northwest ; the wind changed from 
north to northeast, blowing a stiff breeze, yet 
not too hard for expert sailors with good boats 
to make a safe voyage across the Great Slave lake. Three 
fine boats with good seamen, which arrived the previous 

(437) 



438 FORTY YEAR8 OF ADVENTURES 

evening, hove off shore and darted to the southwest in 
the direction of the great Mackenzie river. 

Our little yacht or skiff' was quickly loaded and pushed 
from its moorings. Mr. Rea seated himself on the pilot- 
box and I unfurled the broad sail. The boat nobly re- 
sponded to the stiff' wind, and shot into the " great inland 
sea." 

A mighty shout of three cheers from those on shore, 
appeared to rend the skies. I waved my hat in response 
and Mr. Rea threw up one hand, — all he could do, the 
other being engaged at the rudder. We were now off for 
our far-away homes, by way of that El Dorado of so 
many anxious hearts. When the orchestra started up a 
very appropriate refrain, "There's a land that is fairer 
than day," etc., it appeared to carry my soul beyond 
that dreary, desolate region, and to my native land once 
more. I stood swaying from side to side, holding to the 
mainmast with my left hand and beating the time with 
my right arm, so those on shore might know we distinctly 
caught every vibration of the melodious cornet. When 
they had finished, another boat hove off, and endeavored 
to follow us. It was one of the best boats in the harbor, 
and the occupants made up their minds they could cross 
the mighty billows and stem any storm that might occur. 
We were now under good headway, our boat plowing the 
rolling waves. Then, softly were the notes wafted toward 
us of that most pathetic of songs, " God be with you till 
we meet again." We were too far away for me to beat 
time, but I waved my hat in harmony with the touching 
melody. When the tune ended, I sank on the cargo, a 
tear rolling down my cheek for the first time since my 
absence from the loved ones at home. 

The boat which followed us carried four persons — a 
Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman, A. J. Hoffmeier, and a man from, 
British Columbia. They were particularly anxious to ac- 
company us on the most hazardous portion of the lake, 
as Mr. Rea had previously crossed, and was familiar with 



CAUGHT IN A STORM ON GEEAT SLAVE LAKE 439 

all harbors and places of safety. We gained steadily on 
them, yet they kept in plain view, and we headed for a 
small island five miles away. When we reached it the 
wind was still blowing favorably, and we glided to the 
left, heading for another island seven miles beyond. We 
had scarcely made a quarter of the way, when the wind 
suddenly veered to the north and a brisk gale sprang up 
from off the sea. It increased in velocity and severity 
every minute; the great billows became mountains; their 
white-caps, breaking, sent their spray in showers over us. 
The large scow kept right on, when it should have turned 
back at the small island. We had passed so far beyond 
the island that it would have been impossible for us to 
return. We must reach the one ahead or drift to the 
southern shore of the lake, to be cast upon its rock-bound 
coast or go to the bottom in the open sea. Mr. Rea was 
no longer able to guide our boat by pulling the ropes 
which held the rudder in its place, and was obliged to 
grasp the cross-piece on the top in order to guide the bark 
over the heavy swells. When two-thirds of the way across, 
a huge wave struck us, and Mr. Rea shouted, "Jones, the 
rudder's broken ! " This was a startling declaration. It 
meant drift ashore, there perhaps to be dashed to pieces, 
or sink, — with ten chances to one in favor of the latter. 
At this awful moment there came vividly to my mind the 
sweet strains we had just heard, "God be with you till 
we meet again;" but it was no time for sentiment ! I 
grasped an oar, hoping to be able to keep our helpless 
craft out of the trough of the terrible sea, or at least float- 
ting. Mr. Rea threw himself far over the stern, and with 
his right arm thrust down into the water discovered the 
rudder had been split off, but a strip of wood nailed along 
its bottom was still holding it together. He grasped the 
upper portion of it with his strong blacksmith's arm act- 
ing as a vise, and held it firm while with his left hand he 
guided the boat in the direction of the island. Every 
minute while we were in this critical condition, seemed 



440 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

an hour 1 The sun was already sinking below the hori- 
zon ; the wind was increasing at a fearful rate, and I 
hardly dared look up, as the boat was shipping water at 
an alarming rate. I occasionally, however, glanced 
quickly at the sail behind, for I felt alarmed concerning 
its safety, as well as for our own. I continued to encour- 
age Mr. Rea, who would shake his head in order to clear 
off the water so as to catch his breath before another 
wave rolled over him. I told him to hold on, as it was 
only a short distance to land. "Two miles! one mile 
more I half a mile ! we're almost there I a few more 
rods!" Thank God, we were safe at last. 

Anxious for the lives of the inmates of the boat behind, 
I looked earnestly for its broad sail, but could discover 
only a small portion of it, about two miles in the rear. 
I looked again and it was gone ! Then I exclaimed to 
Mr. Rea, "My God! what has happened? Have they 
given up the island, and are they out on the lake at the 
mercy of this angry gale? " 

The island where we had landed was long and narrow, 
in consequence of which the wind swept down each side 
the whole length, and made the harbor a poor one. Our 
landing was exceedingly hazardous. The boat repeat- 
edly dashed against the rocks, but we soon tossed out 
the freight and dragged our bark ashore. In my anxiety 
I took my field-glass and swept the lake for some sign of 
the boat in which were our friends, but could see nothing 
but an angry sea. If it had been within the limits of 
possibility to assist them, we would have done so, even at 
the risk of our lives, but unhappily all we could do was 
to watch for some indication of the ill-fated boat. The 
wild waves and clouds of spray were all that appeared to 
our vision.^ 

1 After returning to civilization I received a letter from parties at Fort Resolution 
informing me that the boat was capsized and Mr. Hoffman lost, while the other two 
men and Mrs. Hoffman managed to cling to it until they drifted twenty miles on the 
southern shore of the lake, where it hung up for three days and nights on the rocks, 
during which time they were entirely without food or shelter. And just before going 




PROTESTANT MISSION ON GREAT SLAVE LAKE. 




CATHOLIC PRIEST OF THE FAR NORTH. 



CROSSING THE LAKE 441 

Oh, how deeply we regretted that our own boat was dis- 
abled, as, if its rudder had not been broken, we would 
have started at once and attempted the rescue of the un- 
fortunate people. 

The 13th of July was a blustery day. The morning was 
devoted to mending the rudder of our boat and drying 
the cargo of the skiff, which had received such a drench- 
ing the previous day. At noon we set sail for another 
island, five miles distant. We continued on until a fine 
harbor was reached, at a point where we first touched the 
mainland. Resting there that night, we started early the 
next morning, using our oars until about noon, when a 
favorable wind sprang up, which sent us rapidly across 
large bays and along the shore. About sundown the wind 
changed again to the north, pressing us hard toward the 
land. We made fifty miles that day, and were contented 
with our progress. We did not dare go ashore, for the 
coast was very dangerous, and there were only three har- 
bors between the islands and Hay river. Woe to the craft 
that might collide with any of the treacherous rocks that 
form the coast, so desolate in its aspect. 

We were compelled to beat against the wind until 
within five miles of Hay river, then turned into Sand 
creek, one of the harbors previously mentioned; an ex- 
cellent anchorage in a drifting storm, but the channel is 
very difficult to follow, on account of the numerous sand- 
bars. 

The next morning we rowed into Hay river, where is 
located the Protestant mission, conducted by Rev. Mr. 
Marsh, who was one of the l^est men I met during my 
long sojourn in the North. He is a hard worker, and 
his wife and sister assist him, as does also a Miss Tims. 
There is quite a flourishing school here, composed of the 

to press I received a letter from Mr. Hoffmeier, dated at Sandon, B. C, corroborating 
the foregoing facts. His first words in the letter were, "Dank Gott, I am live jet." 
Mr. Hoffmeier is an intelligent German, who has not yet mastered the English lan- 
guage, but his declaration vividly expresses all our feelings after that awful night. 



442 FOETY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Indian children of the neighborhood. They were fairly 
well dressed ; were clean and neat in their appearance, 
which is a rarity among the Indians of this country. But 
their final destiny, I fear, will be deplorable. We were 
invited to partake of a second repast, and sat down to an 
excellent meal, which we indeed appreciated. 

We informed Mr. Marsh of the mysterious disappear- 
ance of the boat and its crew, that had attempted to fol- 
low us, upon which he promised to go to Fort Resolution 
and make inquiry in relation to them. 

In about an hour after our arrival, a favorable breeze 
sprang up, and we were again off for the Mackenzie river, 
forty miles distant, reaching its mouth at sunset, and 
there anchored for the night. 

The following day was calm and relatively warm. By 
hard rowing, and a slight current of water assisting, we 
managed to pass through forty miles of what might be 
termed a very wide stream, or a narrow lake, which 
forms the mouth of the river. At six o'clock we entered 
the river proper ; found the current very swift, averaging 
six miles an hour. 

Soon we came in sight of the Hudson Bay Company's 
post. Fort Providence, where we remained that night. 
Here the Catholics have established a large mission, pre- 
sided over by Father LaCore. There are four or five 
nuns connected with this establishment, and as many 
"Brothers." These monks are celibates, of course, liv- 
ing for the good of the church alone ; they are, when un- 
der the control of harsh authority, mere slaves, but if the 
reverse is the case, live a comparatively happy life. The 
nuns and brothers at the mission labor six days in the 
week without ceasing, excepting the time they pass in 
sleeping, which is precious little. They live on fish al- 
most exclusively, but sometimes are allowed potatoes, 
when they can be raised there. The priests at these 
Catholic missions fare much better : they have bread and 
butter, and in fact many of the luxuries to be found in 



PRIEST WITH AN EYE TO BUSINESS 443 

the Edmonton markets, — even canned fruit. It is ru- 
mored that Father LaCore is not an exception to this 
rule, living sumptuously every day. He sits at the head 
of his table with rich food about him, the brothers and 
sisters eating at the same board ; but their fare is limited 
to fish. All the food is blessed, preparatory to eating, by 
the good (?) father, and is very healthful, I have no 
doubt. 

Fifteen or twenty men en route for Alaska were ice- 
bound near Fort Providence, and were compelled to pass 
the winter of 1897-8 there. Toward spring the scurvy 
made its appearance among them, and those who were 
very sick when the ice broke up could not continue their 
journey, while those who were not in so sad a plight were 
compelled to go on, or remain and perish from the same 
scourge. Father LaCore was applied to to take care of 
the sick until they recovered, or at least were able to 
travel. They were without money, but had plenty of 
provisions, which they offered in payment for the care of 
their comrades. The good father replied, "No! I will 
not take them unless you pay me, in advance, thirty dol- 
lars in cash for each man." They offered him beans, 
flour, bacon, and other staple goods. But no — he must 
have the cash 1 

Such Christianity is a mockery, and I felt like taking a 
vow that no more of my dimes should find their way into 
the mission-box. Upon inquiry, however, I learned that 
this was an exceptional case, and that at Forts Simpson, 
Norman, Good Hope, McPherson, and Yukon, a different 
state of affairs existed, and many acts of kindness were 
shown to weary travelers during their sickness while at 
those posts during the same winter and the following 
spring. I met several of the fathers and missionaries of 
both the English and Catholic churches, who were ever 
willing to administer to the needs of those who required 
assistance. At Fort Norman, particularly. Father Guoy 
frequently incommoded himself in order to help the 



444 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

needy and those who were suffering, and everybody that 
knows him speaks in his praise. 

I think that the head of the Catholic Church should in- 
vestigate two or three of their remote missions, and re- 
place them upon the foundation originally intended. 

The next morning we left for Fort Simpson, arriving 
there in three days, where we found a vast number of 
gold-seekers with all kinds of boats, waiting for the Liard 
( Lear) river to go down, so they could ascend to its 
source, high up in the mountains, by water, and cross the 
divide to Alaska. I learned afterwards from the Indians 
that they were simply wasting their time, as the Devil's 
Canon, through which the river runs, is entirely inac- 
cessible to a boat large enough to carry sufficient provi- 
sions to last them to their destination. Their lot will 
certainly be a deplorable one. 

The wind blowing strongly in our favor, we tarried less 
than half an hour, then shot down the boisterous water 
with frightful rapidity. 

At midnight it became foggy and dark ; our boat col- 
lided with a huge log, which almost wrecked us, and we 
were compelled to go ashore and repair damages. 

After passing Fort Rigley, where we made a very short 
stop, we soon reached Fort Norman. At this point the 
Bear river intersects the Mackenzie, and drains the Great 
Bear lake. The wind was blowing strongly from the 
southwest, which impeded our progress materially. All 
along the bluffs above the post, great ledges of coal crop 
out. Many of them had l^een set on fire, and no doubt 
have been burning for years. 

Here we seized an opportunity to exchange our boat for 
a Peterborough canoe, which had been brought from that 
town in Canada by miners, and they disposed of it, lit- 
tle knowing its real value. It was only twenty feet long 
and four feet in width, made of bass (the lightest wood 
known), and weighed but one hundred and fifty-six pounds 



VISIT TO THE RUINS OF FORT FRANKLIN 445 

when dry. It was a perfect Godsend to us, as it was ex- 
actly what we needed to ascend the rapids and cascades 
of Rat river, and to carry over the portage to the waters 
of the Pacific slope. 

As the wind continued to blow fiercely from the south- 
west, we determined to set our sail to the northeast, up 
Bear river, and visit the ruins of Fort Franklin on the 
northwest shore of Great Bear lake. By rapidly sailing in 
our new canoe up the river, occasionally "tracking,"^ we 
made excellent time, reaching tlie lake the next evening. 
The wind subsided a1)out midnight, when, after rounding 
a prominent point, we soon anchored under the shelter of 
the bluffs on which stood the old fort. 

After anchoring our boat to a large rock, we ascended 
to the place so fraught with the impressions of a sad and 
historical past, that I could hardly realize where I stood. 
After a cup of tea we spread our blankets, but could not 
sleep, for the dashing of the mournful waves, the harsh 
chattering of the waterfowls, coupled with the memory of 
the horrible fate of the gallant Franklin and his brave 
followers, the story of which I had read in my childhood 
days, all combined to make this a solemn hour. As my 
thoughts recurred to that dreadful past, over half a cen- 
tury ago, the place seemed to be rehabilitated with the act- 
ors who once made it famous. The wild scream of loons 
could be heard in all directions ; the coarse croak of the 
ravens, as they perched on the dead scraggy trees, scat- 
tered on that rock-bound coast, appeared to signify they 
had battened on the bones of the dead heroes and were 
waiting for more. 

Everything appeared to intensify the halo of solemnity 
that surrounded that almost sacred spot, and I imagined 

1 " Tracking." It is very common for fur companies in the far North to transport 
goods a thousand miles up the rivers in boats propelled by Indians, who walk on the 
shore, holding to one end of a long line, the other being attached to the boat, which Is 
guided by a steersman, who stands in the bow with a long sweep. This method of 
navigation is called "tracking." 



446 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

the lamentations of Lady Franklin could still be heard, 
saying : 

"Canst thou not tell me, Polar Star, 

Where in the frosty waste he kneels 
And on the icy plains afar 

His love to God and me reveals? 
Wilt thou not send one brighter ray 
To my lotie heart and aching eye ? 
Wilt thou not turn my night to day, 
And wake my spirit ere I die? 

"Tell me, frozen North, for now 
• My heart is like thine arctic zone ; 

Beneath the darkened skies I bow. 

Or ride the stormy seas alone. 
Tell me of my beloved, for I know not 

One ray my lord without ; 
Oh, tell me, that I may not die 
A sorrower on the sea of doubt." 

How it could be possible for Sir John Franklin and one 
hundred and thirty-seven heroes to perish in that north- 
ern region, is to me a mystery. I feel confident that if 
stranded on the Arctic shores, with a good Winchester 
rifle, plenty of ammunition and a pair of blankets, I 
would never tarry until reaching the most delightful 
clime in the world, which lies, in my best judgment, be- 
tween the thirty-sixth and fortieth degrees of latitude. 

There stood the identical cabin, erected so many dec- 
ades ago, by the heroic explorer and his gallant crew, 
now in ruins, a monument of the daring spirits who had 
ventured so far to advance the interests of science. The 
logs of which the cabin was constructed were badly de- 
cayed, only its ghost remaining, figuratively. The door 
was gone, and the earth washed from the few remaining 
poles that formed the roof. A table still stood in one end 
of the room, but it was slowly decaying under the influ- 
ence of the continually warring elements. The stone 
chimney was as solid as when first built. There were' 
evidently two apartments in the building, one larger than 



DOWN THE MACKENZIE RIVER 447 

the other, with a connecting door. The smaller, doubt- 
less, was used for storing goods, perhaps occupied for 
sleeping also. 

Apparently there had originally been several Iniildings 
of less size than the one under discussion, constructed by 
Franklin's party or others, but they appeared to have 
been destroyed by fire, — probably the act of Indians. 

Timber is very scarce on this bleak, rocky coast, and 
for what reason Sir John Franklin selected such a spot 
in which to pass the winter, I cannot imagine. By simply 
going down Bear river a day's journey, he would have 
found a country well wooded and much better sheltered 
from the terrible storms which prevail during that por- 
tion of the year. Perhaps his choice was made from the 
fact that immense herds of reindeer and musk-oxen, upon 
which he depended for food, made the contiguous region 
a favorite grazing-ground. 

As tired and fatigued as we were, no sleep came to our 
eyes, and after resting a few hours at this enchanting spot, 
hallowed by so many cherished memories, we regretfully 
( 3"et apparently something irresistible impelled us on ) 
tacked back to the mouth of the river, and were soon 
upon its broad bosom again. The tempestuous gale of 
the previous day having completely exhausted itself, we 
were hurriedly floated down to Fort Norman by the swift 
current. We stopped only long enough to procure a few 
fresh herring, the first place at which they could be ob- 
tained while going down the Mackenzie ; and as we had 
never tasted them before, thought them delicious. The 
Mackenzie river is the widest stream I ever saw. Below its 
intersection with the Liard it averages fully two miles, 
while near its mouth no one knows how wide it is, as it 
has never been measured. It flows at the rate of two 
miles an hour, excepting when at a high stage, when it is 
increased to three miles an hour. 



448 



FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 



Before reaching the " ramparts," ^ so called, into which 
we were hurled with a force that was terrific in its im- 
petuosity, the roar of the water over the loose bowl- 
ders could be heard for ten miles, before our arrival. 
Here the river is reduced to a half-mile in width, and its 
narrowness compared to its breadth above is conspicuous. 
Perpendicular walls of solid granite on each side, rising 
from three to five hundred feet high, constitute the gorge, 
of which I took a snap-shot with my kodak as our boat 
dashed through. The scenery is sublime. 




RAMPARTS OF THE MACKENZIE RIVER 



As we emerged from the ramparts, which are ten miles 
long, we caught our first glimpse of Fort G-ood Hope, 

1 These ramparts are formed by a narrow gorge in the rocks, through which the 
whole volume of the river Is forced, as at the Dalles of the Columbia and those of St. 
Croix. 



FORT GOOD HOPE 



449 



which is at the edge of the Arctic Circle. We soon arrived 
at this prominent geographical locality, where I was sur- 
prised to find a garden planted with potatoes and other 
vegetables, remarkably prolific, and of excellent quality. 
Beautiful flowers covered the country. It was like a Gar- 
den of Eden, as compared to the Barren Lands. 




CATHOLIC CHURCH AT FORT GOOD HOPE 

Fort Good Hope is one of the oldest posts in the far 
North. It has been rebuilt several times, in different lo- 
calities. There is a large Catholic church here, with a 
large cross in front, belonging to the mission, and it is 
the finest building of its character in the remote North. 
I took a picture of this building. There are no white 
people at this post, excepting one or two priests. 

Leaving Fort Good Hope in a few hours, we sailed and 



450 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

floated down the river four days more, which brought us 
to the Arctic ocean, along the shores of which and through 
the deltas of the Mackenzie we coasted a day or two. We 
met many Eskimos, dressed entirely in furs. Some 
seemed very old. They could not understand us, or we 
them . 

Their boats were of framework, made of sticks lashed 
together and covered with whale-skins. Their canoes 
were entirely covered, excepting a hole into which the oc- 
cupant could crowd and wrap a lappel or apron around 
his waist, thus shutting out all water, even if it rolled 
over the entire canoe. Thus they venture on the mighty 
I)illow8 of the Arctic ocean, which to ordinary boatmen 
would seem impossible. The men and boys over twelve 
years of age all wear ivory buttons in their under lips for 
ornaments. They resemble the Malayan race; are very 
ingenious, and are not at all hostile. 

We sailed forty miles from the ocean back up the 
Mackenzie to the mouth of Peel's river, which we ascended 
until we arrived at the mouth of Rat river. Peel's river 
has an average width of about a thousand feet, while that 
of Rat river is but fifty. 

We ascended Rat river twe];ity-five miles, to the point 
where we reached its first cascade. There all boats are 
knocked to pieces, out of which smaller ones are con- 
structed, as boats of large size cannot be towed up the 
rapids. The loss of boats and other property at that 
place has been so great, it has very properly been named 
" Destruction City." Here the sun shines in summer for 
a period of forty days of twenty-four hours' duration 
each, — continual sunlight; therefore the night of intense 
darkness must be of corresponding length. 

The majority of the travelers congregated there must 
spend the winter, and will be without fresh meat or fish 
and without vegetables. It is a safe prediction that the 
dreaded scurvy will break out among them. But, if they 
take proper precautions, gather plenty of the wild fruit I 




A VENERABLE ESKIMO. 




CANOE COVERED WITH WHALESKIN. 



MRS. crakt at destructiox citv 451 

have mentioned, and descend to Peel's river, where they 
may procure fish, possibly they may get through safely. 
Some of them have already, in their despair, committed 
suicide, two of them on the Mackenzie river and three on 
the Yukon, within sixty days. For those who survive the 
terrible ordeal, I have prophesied that if they do not as- 
cend the mountains to too great a height, they will keep 
warm, for there is an abundance of timber along that 
stream. 

Most writers make the assertion that the Arctic Circle 
is near the limit of vegetation. They speak of the 8crul)by 
and barren character of the lower Mackenzie river region, 
while in fact, north of the Arctic Circle there is as fine a 
growth of spruce and birch timber as I have ever seen. 
Some of the young trees are so tall and symmetrical that 
they would be regarded as perfect for liberty-poles. Wild 
currants and a variety of small cranberries are to be 
found in greatest luxuriance, while grass and moss cover 
every spot. 

At " Destruction City " we overtook many persons from 
all parts of the world ; numbers of them had been travel- 
ing on their weary journey for over a year. In the whole 
assemblage there was but one woman. She had nobly 
braved the perils of the trip thus far; a Mrs. A. C. Craig, 
from Chicago. Her husband had been a contractor in 
that city, and with his wife had been on the road for 
more than twelve months. Here they abandoned their 
trip. To return ? No; there is no retreating. It would 
require three years to tow their boats up the rivers and 
cross the lakes in returning to Edmonton, the first place 
of civilization. All left for them to do was to return to 
Fort McPherson, eighty miles up Peel's river, there build 
sleds, and portage their goods over the divide to Belle 
river, during the ensuing winter and spring, so as to be 
ready to descend to the Yukon the following summer, to the 
gold-fields, their objective point, — consuming two whole 
years. I have met many of the friends of the people to 



452 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

whom I have referred, since niy return. They invariably 
ask, ' ' Why don ' t they return ? Why do they stay there ? ' ' 
Their predicament recalls very forcibly the parable in the 
Bible, of the rich man Dives, who died and went to 
Hades. He could not reach the haven he desired, neither 
was he permitted to return and warn his kindred not to 
come to that place of torment. 

While at Fort Resolution I received a letter from my 
sister, Mrs. Ed. Clayton, in Chicago, begging me, if I 
should meet the Craigs above referred to, to do all in my 
power to help them along, as they were friends of hers. 
Upon the acquaintance thus formed with Mr. Craig, and 
with liberal inducements, I succeeded in persuading him 
and Mr. E. K. Turner, of Salt Lake City, to assist us in 
drawing our little boat up Rat river and over the portage. 
Mrs. Craig remained at the tent, keeping a vigil over the 
precious larder, which she and her husband cherished as 
they did their lives. 

Poor woman ! her experience had been a remarkable one. 
She had been subjected to innumerable hardships, under 
summer suns and through winter snows ; had descended 
rivers, and passed over their rapids; crossed Great Slave 
lake on the ice ; steered their ])oat while her husband plied 
the oars, sometimes working them herself when he was 
prostrated by his almost superhuman exertions. She had 
driven dog-sleds, and gathered wood in the thick under- 
brush to keep up fires while her husband was absent on 
long journeys, portaging their goods. She often pushed 
her way along the river's edge, towing the boat with a long_ 
cord. Her wearing apparel of necessity became tattered 
and torn, so much so that she was compelled to resort to 
men's clothing. Yet she was always brave, never utter- 
ing a murmur. If she successfully reaches the Pacific 
coast, she will be the first white woman who ever essayed 
the journey ])y this route, and will be entitled to be classed 
as a heroine. 

I also met at this place the ubiquituous newspaper cor- 




ESKIMOS ON THE ARCTIC OCEAN SOCIETY BELLES. 



OFF FOR THE YUKON RIVER 453 

respondent, in the person of Mr. Thumser, of Chicago, 
who had been sent by the Associated Press as their agent to 
report upon the feasibility of the Edmonton route to Daw- 
son City. He had not, however, been able to send back a 
word since leaving Edmonton in May. He had expected 
to forward his report by whaling-vessels, which he hoped 
to find in the Arctic ocean, but it is doubtful whether his 
messenger ever succeeded in reaching a ship. He would 
gladly have availed himself of the opportunity to send 
by Mr. Rea and myself, if he had had the slightest confi- 
dence in our reaching civilization before the next year. 

We remained at this romantic city of tents but one 
night, leaving next morning, August 10th, but before start- 
ing discarded every conceivable article we could spare, so 
as to lighten our burden as much as possible. I even 
gave away my gun, field-glass, revolver, and many other 
articles which I had carried for years during my travels 
on the frontier. When all was ready, with the little 
amount of provisions left to last us until we could reach 
the Yukon river, loaded into the boat, we waded into 
the water, one man on each side of the canoe to keep it 
from dashing on the rocks, and two in front with the tow- 
line to keep it in the middle of the stream, the only place 
where there was sufficient water to float it, without injury. 
There was plenty of water on each side, of course, — often 
waist deep, in fact; but the bottom was so thickly strewn 
with rocks, whose jagged points neared the surface, that 
it would have been impossible for any craft to live there 
a moment. Some one may ask why we did not walk on 
the shore and tow our boat, as we have stated that the 
stream is narrow ; but it must be remembered that often 
the rocky bed referred to widens out for twenty yards or 
more on either side of the narrow channel, and where 
narrow it is so crooked that we were obliged to pull with 
a short line, and directly ahead. 

We left Destruction City full of courage, hoping to 
make rapid progress with such a light load; but we were 



454 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

sorely disappointed, as in many places our combined ef- 
forts were not sufficient to drag the boat up the cascades. 
We were often obliged to carry our goods on our backs a 
half-mile at a time, then return and tow the empty boat to 
the top of the rapids. This required an immense amount 
of muscle and all the ingenuity we could command, as 
the current runs like a mill-race. We would have em- 
ployed Indians for this hard work had it been possible, 
but the white men who had preceded us had scattered the 
microbes of la grippe from Edmonton all the way to De- 
struction City, and the Indians along the route were sick ; 
many dying daily. It was very fortunate that we secured 
the services of the two gentlemen mentioned, or we should 
have been compelled to pass another winter within the 
Arctic Circle. 

During the first thirty miles we passed a great many 
parties, who, like ourselves, were struggling to the sum- 
mit, frequently following one another so closely that the 
parties were not more than one hundred yards apart ; but 
during the last quarter of our forty-mile journey through 
the rapids, very few outfits had succeeded in progressing 
thus far, probably less than a dozen that would be able 
to cross over before winter. 

We consumed seven days in making forty miles, and 
when we landed our boat on the small lake which is the 
source of West Rat river it was the 17th of August. Here 
we bade farewell and Godspeed to Messrs. Craig and Tur- 
ner, who had rendered us such excellent service. 

On our long journey from Fort Resolution on Great 
Slave lake we had passed ninety-five boats and their 
crews, with the intense satisfaction of knowing that none 
had passed us. 

We found a new route while crossing the portage be- 
tween the two Rat rivers, by which we were enabled 
to make a portage of only twenty-three hundred and 
fifty feet, while all the other j^arties had been compelled 
to carry their goods and boats twice that distance in ef- 



RAT RIVER 455 

fecting it. The cut-off was made by following a stream 
which entered the lake at the head of East Rat river, the 
stream flowing into the lake from the south and coming 
within that short distance of the other lake, which is the 
source of West Rat river. 

Mr. McDougall, the civil engineer who mapped this 
Rat river pass, gives its elevation as eleven hundred and 
sixty feet, but his figures do not agree with my measure- 
ments. I find it to be eight hundred and forty feet 
higher. The only way in which I can account for this 
great discrepancy is that the Indians insist that Mr. Mc- 
Dougal never went there at all, but traveled overland 
from McPherson to the LaPere house on Belle river, while 
his guides hauled his empty boat up Rat river, thence 
over the portage to Belle river, where they joined him. 

Many hundred gold-seekers will be compelled to spend 
another dreary winter on the Rat river, in that land of 
darkness, then haul what few effects they may have left 
in the spring on dog-sleds across to Belle river. Those 
who are far up Rat river doubtless will be able to portage 
their goods the short distance they have to travel, on 
their backs, to West Rat river, where they can descend in 
small boats, which they must construct of lumber sawed 
by hand. They too will learn that West Rat river is the 
place of all places to realize the sensation of "shooting 
the chutes." It is a continuous succession of cascades 
from source to mouth. As we rushed down it in our frail 
boat it furnished us some new sensations in boating in 
Arctic waters. Mr. Rea stood in the bow with a long 
pole, while I took a position in the stern with another. 
As we went flying down, Mr. Rea would thrust in his pole 
and guide the boat around the danger-point, which con- 
sisted of rocks protruding above the surface or very close 
to it. His action had a tendency to force the other end 
of the boat against the very one he was trying to avoid. 
Then came my turn for an exhibition of skill by keep- 
ing it off. A single slip or miss on my part would have 



456 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

crushed our boat into kindling-wood, and all would have 
been lost in the turbulent current. It was clearly a game 
of life and death. It seemed to me that river was longer 
than the Mississippi. When we reached the last rapids, 
just before entering Belle river, the sharp points of a 
great many rocks made their appearance. Mr. Rea made 
a mighty effort with his pole to escape a particularly dan- 
gerous one, but in so doing only threw the boat on an- 
other just to our right. The boat fairly leaped into the 
air; turned clear around, going down the river stern first, 
and a stream of water burst through the bottom of the 
boat, about four inches in diameter. By the time we 
discovered it, and realized what had occurred, we were in 
the center of Belle river. We both quickly dropped our 
poles and pulled on the oars for the opposite shore. Before 
we reached it the water was half-way to the gunwales, and 
everything completely drenched, which compelled us to 
sleep in wet blankets that night. 

Scientists claim that the Rat river pass was caused by 
the ice gorging at the mouth of the Mackenzie river dur- 
ing the glacial period, until it backed up the water so 
high it diverted the floods to the Pacific slope, and cut 
the mountains down about a thousand feet. But this 
theory is all guess-work, as the probability is no scientific 
man ever passed over that route. In my opinion the the- 
ory is not correct, for several reasons. One is sufficient 
to defeat such a possibility, viz. : If the Avater had been 
raised three thousand feet, by that time the snow falling 
on the mountains would have reached a tremendous 
height, as all agree that during the 12,000 years of the 
glacial period, snow fell to a depth of two and a half feet 
per year, which, wdien compressed, made over six inches 
of ice, after a year or two. This would have elevated the 
mountain 7,000 feet higher, or a total of 10,000 feet above 
sea-level, and would have sent the waters over the Bar- 
ren Lands to the Arctic Ocean, or backed it over the di- 
vide into the Mississippi or Hudson Bay slopes. 



DIFFICULTIES OF THE EDMONTON ROUTE 457 

The trouble is with some scientific men, tliey too often 
jump at conclusions without proving them. 

Next morning we patched up the boat as best we could, 
and started on our long journey to the great Yukon river. 

I must admit that with all its trials and hardships, the 
route we had traveled did not differ from what I had ex- 
pected, as in the previous fall, before leaving Fort Reso- 
lution, I had met an Indian and talked with him as to 
the feasibility of returning that way. His description of 
the difficulties to be met with I found to be correct ; so 
was not disappointed, as were thousands of others who 
had foolishly taken the advice of people who knew no 
more about the topography of the country than they did 
of that of the moon. 

Our success was clearly attributal^le to well-trained 
muscles and the hardships incident to the summer and 
winter of the year before, when we were sojourning in the 
Barren Lands. If any desire to make the trip to the Yu- 
kon by the ''Edmonton route,'' they should first deter- 
mine whether they have a constitution of iron, nerves of 
steel, and an indomitable will. That determined beyond 
a doubt, let them secure the lightest boat possiljle, take 
just enough provisions to last to the Yukon, and in a 
company of not less than three others, cast in the same 
mould as themselves. Then, if expert sailors, and the 
weather is not too boisterous, by securing a practical 
guide to take them through the rapids of Athabaska and 
Slave rivers and across the lake of the same name, with 
a guide from the Mackenzie up Peel's and Rat rivers to the 
Bource of West Rat river, they can feel assured of making 
the journey in one summer, provided they follow the ice 
when it breaks up early in the spring, keeping on their 
course both night and day. 

Some half a dozen parties had preceded us over the Rat 
river route, and shot down the rapids tlirougli Belle and 
Porcupine rivers to the muddy Yukon; while others, a 
limited numl)er, had portaged eighty-five miles from Fort 



458 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

McPherson to the old LaPere house, on the Belle river, 
where they constructed rafts and floated down Belle and 
Porcupine rivers. 

The most sensible course pursued by any of the many 
hundreds Avho had reached Peel's river was that of Messrs. 
E. A. Olds and J. H. Huntoon, of Los Angeles, Cal. 
They arrived at Fort McPherson early in June, v/here 
they met a number of Eskimos from HerscheFs island in 
the Arctic ocean, with whom they exchanged a portion of 
their goods for twenty very strong dogs, on whose backs 
they packed the remainder of their supplies and made 
the trip across to Belle river. Their dogs carried from 
thirty to forty-five pounds each, and the acquisition of 
these animals proved a Godsend to them. At Belle river" 
they built a large raft, and on it floated down to Fort 
Yukon, where they disj)osed of the dogs at fabulous 
prices. 

We overtook this party on Porcupine river, three days 
before they arrived at their destination. Fort Yukon. I 
wish I could present a photograph of their peculiar craft 
as it appeared when I first saw it, for it was the most 
comical thing I saw on my whole trip. They abandoned 
it at Fort Yukon, and with the amount of money received 
from the sale of the dogs, were able to take first-class 
passage to San Francisco, and had enough gold-dust left 
to establish their claim of having discovered wonderful 
mines, had they felt so disposed, as thousands of others 
had done, — creating a false excitement in relation to the 
mineral resources of that over-estimated I'egion. 

When three hundred and fifty miles up the Porcupine 
river I was surprised Vjy meeting a large party of gold 
prospectors who had come in via Dawson City. They in- 
tended to winter at that point, and in the spring portage 
over about a hundred miles north, to the head of a river 
which they believed emptied into the Kotzebue sound. 
Among others was a Mr. Shank, of Omaha, Neb., whom 
I had met before. They were in the locality of Old 



REACH THE YUKON RIVER 459 

Crow river, the place of all places for historical petrified 
relics, of the gigantic mastodon and other large animals. 

About a hundred miles below where we met them, we 
were hurled into the ramparts of Porcupine river. This 
mighty gorge, through which the water shoots with tre- 
mendous force and rapidity, is about ninety miles long. 
The walls on either side are so variegated in color in some 
places that they resemble the " Pictured Rocks " of Lake 
Superior. Midway of the gorge is Rampart House, until 
very recently a Protestant mission of the Fort Yukon 
district. This is where General Frederick Funston spent 
the winter of 1893-94. We stopped there over-night, 
where we met the Reverend T. H. Bawksley, who has 
been so diligent in educating Indians. He and a half- 
dozen jolly good fellows were up there for the purpos"e of 
moving the furniture and other goods of this mission on 
the Porcupine down to Fort Yukon. He was possessed of 
a fine library, an organ and other musical instruments, 
and I really felt as though we had once more reached a 
land of civilization. 

Early the next morning we were gliding down the rap- 
ids, and applied our oars as vigorously as if we were in 
mere eddies, making every exertion to reach Fort St. 
Michael's before the rivers were closed. 

We saw a great many young geese and ducks on our 
route, and killed a few black bear, the tender meat of 
which we appreciated very much. 

On the morning of the 27th of August we entered the 
great and muddy Yukon, and could plainly distinguish 
the outlines of Fort Yukon about two miles above. The 
wind being in our favor, we set sail, and soon anchored at 
the little Indian village. Many of the inhabitants stood 
on the banks watching us as we glided toward them up 
the swift current. On landing, an old Indian informed 
us it was the first boat he ever saw which could sail up the 
swift stream. Our boat was so light and its sail so large 
it was irresistible. 



460 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

In Alaska we found some of the greatest rascals of the 
period, both in Canada and the United States, — especially 
among the custom-house and other officers. They often 
collect more duty from small crafts than their cargoes 
originally cost; while those boat-owners who were "up to 
snuff" merely slipped a ten-dollar bill or gold-piece into 
the official's hands, and passed without inspection. An 
official receipt is rarely given, to those they do inspect, — 
simply a slip of paper, on which is written something like 
the following: "This is to certify that I have examined 

Mr. 's outfit, and collected duty on same. ' ' They were 

very careful not to specify the amount or the names of 
the articles dutiable, and everybody knew the money re- 
ceived seldom, if ever, found its way into the treasury of 
their respective governments. 

To show the extent to which this malfeasance obtains 
in that country, I was told by a gentleman at Minook, 
seven hundred miles below Dawson City, that he had writ- 
ten to the postmaster there several times during the sum- 
mer to have his mail forwarded to him at Minook, but 
received no reply. He paid fifty dollars for passage to 
Dawson, and on arriving there fell into line, finally reach- 
ing the postoffice window, where he asked for his mail. 
The clerk said there was nothing for him. The gentle- 
man insisted that he should look, for he knew there must 
be at least a basketful. The clerk still refused to look, 
declaring there was no mail. The surging crowd pushed 
the anxious inquirer along, and he was compelled to re- 
linquish his search for that day. But the next day he 
returned to the postoffice. He had been told to "tip" 
the clerk, and this time he did so by handing him a 
twenty-dollar bill ; and he again asked for his mail. The 
clerk turned away, and soon returned with forty-five let- 
ters and a package of papers. 

This is only one instance of that character which I have 
space to recite, although I have the knowledge of many 
others. This nefarious method was practiced not only at 



DRIFTING DOWN THE RIVER 461 

Dawson, in the British Possessions, but at many of the post- 
offices in the United States contiguous, where from five to 
ten cents was demanded before delivering a letter. The 
fact is, some of those officers, so remote from the seat of 
government, can make a small fortune before it is possi- 
ble for a report to reach the Departments at Washing- 
ton and Ottawa, their conduct investigated and successors 
appointed. Consequently, they are very extortionate and 
defiant. 

We remained at Fort Yukon nearly a week, hoping to 
catch a steamer to St. Michael's; but before one arrived 
Mr. Ilea went up the river to Dawson City. On his re- 
turn he corroborated the extravagant methods of robbery 
reported. While at Dawson he gathered many interesting 
facts, some of which, if made known, would be astounding. 
I do not deem it expedient to insert his letter, as so much 
of a derogatory character has already been published about 
this much-talked-of place. 

Very few boats touch at Fort Yukon, this once all-im- 
portant "no place." I soon became tired of its terrible 
monotony, and concluded with three other gentlemen 
who had joined me, to take our canoe and drift down the 
river, hoping that a steamer would overtake us. The 
weather was cold and stormy ; rain and sleet fell almost 
continually. We had scarcely reached the lower end of 
the island, beyond which flows the main channel of the 
Yukon, when to our chagrin we saw two immense steam- 
ers passing down the stream. We were so far from them 
that we had little hope of their seeing or hearing us, yet 
we waved our hats, coats and blankets, and yelled our- 
selves hoarse — all to no purpose, for they proceeded on 
their way without noticing us. 

The wind blew furiously from the northwest as we 
floated on the rolling waves, until night was upon us; 
then, cold and hungry, Ave sought shelter under the thick 
willows fringing the north bank. 

The next day was Sunday; we neither went to church 



462 FORTY YEAR8 OF ADVENTURES 

nor Sunday-school, but had a little " Endeavor meeting" 
of our own, — endeavored to stem the terrific wind and 
waves, but made very little progress. We continued float- 
ing by day and camping at night, until Tuesday morning, 
just as we had finished our breakfast of slapjacks, bacon 
and coffee, a cloud of black smoke was borne on the breeze 
beyond a point of timber we had passed the night before. 
In a short time a monstrous steamer came in sight, and 
we all hurriedly paddled to the center of the river. As it 
approached us I jumped on our "grub-box " and gave the 
railroad signal for it to stop. At the same time all of us 
waved our hats and coats, but the steamer passed to the 
south of us and was swiftly gliding by, when the pilot- 
house window was opened and a man leaned out. I 
held up my arm and shouted, "Four passengers for St. 
Michael's!" He rang the reverse bell, the steamer 
stopped, and soon we were alongside of the Alaska Com- 
mercial Company's largest and finest boat, "Hannah." 
The purser was on the lower deck, and came to where we 
were. I asked him, "How much for four passages to 
St. Michael's ? " He replied, " One hundred and seventy- 
five dollars." We were already half-way from Dawson to 
Bering Sea, and knew the fare at that time for first-class 
passage from Dawson to St. Michael's was fifty dollars. 
I intimated so, and offered one hundred and fifty. He 
answered with a most emphatic " No ! " We quickly con- 
cluded to pay the exorbitant price, and climbed aboard. 
Then we cut the towline from our small boat and let it 
go adrift, with all our cooking utensils, etc. We arranged 
our proportion of the fare with Mr. Olds, and he paid the 
one hundred and seventy-five dollars to the purser. 

I asked to be shown my stateroom, but the purser re- 
jilied, "Just pay your fare and I will arrange the rooms." 
I replied, "Mr. Olds has paid for all." The purser an- 
swered, " He has only paid for one." We were all dumb- 
founded I One hundred and seventy-five dollars each was 
demanded, when our contract plainly implied it was 



EXTORTION OF THE BTEAMBHIP COMPANY 463 

meant for all four, at least a dozen passengers and offi- 
cers corroborating my statement. 

What to do we did not know. Our boat was gone, but 
we did not propose to be robbed in that way. The purser 
handed the money back and gave us orders to get off as 
soon as the next wood-yard was reached. We protested, 
patted him on the back, and begged to be allowed to con- 
tinue our journey and pay a reasonable fare, but without 
effect. Learning that the company's general manager, Mr. 
Wilson, was aboard, we appealed to him. We asked him 
to allow us to remain, even if we went as steerage passen- 
gers. He shook his head. I then proposed that we work 
our way down, and let them retain the money. The prop- 
osition was accepted, and we all went below, supposing, 
of course, that there would be some kind of a bed to sleep 
on, but discovered that only the wet, dirty deck or cord- 
wood was to be our couch. I made my bed the first night 
on the wood, but precious little sleep did I get. The 
next day I found a board four feet and a half long by 
eleven inches wide which served me a great deal better; 
and I was really thankful for the comfort it afforded. 
Our principal work was loading cordwood from the banks, 
and I always pitched it with such force and peculiar twist 
down the hills, as to make each stick turn four or five 
somersaults, which landed it nearly in its proper place 
near the boat. I soon found out I had made a great mis- 
take, as I was always ordered afterward by the mate to 
the farthest pile from the boat. In fact, I worked just as 
hard as if I had not paid forty-two dollars and fifty cents 
for the privilege of being a deck-hand without wages. 

After we reached the little hamlet of Andressy I was 
helping to pull the anchor-line on shore to make the boat 
fast, when, stepping on a block of wood, two rusty nails 
penetrated my moccasin and sank deeply into my foot. 
I hobbled back to the boat, too lame to perform any more 
work, and tried very hard to persuade the officers to as- 
sign me a room so as to doctor mv wound, as well as a 



464 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

severe cold I had contracted because of the miseral)le 
quarters I had been obliged to occupy. Although there 
were eight empty rooms above, they declined to grant my 
request. The Alaska Commercial Company is known by 
all that travel in Alaska as a " corporation without a 
soul" — one that has grown to the magnitude of a multi- 
millionaire by being the pet of the United States in the 
seal fisheries and carrying government supplies. That 
company is now returning gratitude to the citizens of our 
great nation for favors received, by bleeding them. We 
did find men of kind hearts in the kitchen of the boat. 
They treated us with due courtesy and kindness, and to 
them we return everlasting gratitude. 

There is also another corporation, the Alaska Trans- 
portation Company, which, too, is without a soul. These 
companies have laid claim to about two miles frontage 
of the best and almost the only available portion of the 
harbor at St. Michael's. The first thing I saw after land- 
ing on the i^ier was a notice posted in a conspicuous 
place by the commanding officer in charge of the United 
States military post there ( which includes all the harbor ), 
warning the public not to trespass upon the premises 
claimed by the corporations to which I have referred; 
consequently, no one is allowed to sell anything, no mat- 
ter how small it may be. No boarding-house is allowed 
within these sacred precints, excepting those of the great 
corporations, who have supply stores, hotels, etc., and 
charge their patrons most exorbitant rates. 

I was told by a sergeant of the regular army stationed 
there, that the Alaska Transportation Company had 
agreed to have barracks ready for the troops on their ar- 
rival ; but they found only the foundations laid. 

The commanding officer said the soldiers might assist 
the company in building the barracks, which would give 
them thirty cents an hour for spending-money. They 
quickly learned that wages were fifty cents an hour, and 
that there were many poor disappointed civilians there 



TWO DAYS AND NIGHTS ON A SANDBAR 465 

who needed the work. They respectfully sent word to 
their commander they did not want to cut wages and beat 
needy workmen out of their jobs. In reply, a peremptory 
order was given for the soldiers to build the barracks and 
accept whatever the company saw fit to pay them ; so 
there was nothing left for them but to obey. After they 
had finished, the company had the audacity to give them 
fifteen cents an hour. This heartless corporation is now 
receiving from the government thirty-six hundred dollars 
a year as rental for the barracks, built by its own troops. 
It probably cost the company less than its receipts for six 
months. These transportation companies, doubtless, are 
to a great extent responsible for the glowing reports about 
Alaska and the whole Northwestern country which have 
been sent out for the sole purpose of filling their coffers 
with the earnings of the many thousands they have al- 
lured there. 

At St. Michael's, on the 17th of September, I boarded 
the ocean steamer Tillamook, bound for Seattle, Wash. 
We sailed about eighty miles northwest to discharge a 
cargo of freight at a point on Colovin Bay. This com- 
pleted, the captain steered for the deep sea, — but soon 
landed us high and dry on a sandbar! There we re- 
mained for two days and nights. Finally, by extraordi- 
nary effort at high tide, and a favorable wind, we were 
freed from our dangerous mooring. It was fortunate 
that we got off when we did, otherwise we should have 
been left there the whole winter, for the wind soon shifted 
to the north and blew the water out of the bay. 

About ten miles out after leaving the bar, a small 
steamboat in distress was discovered. The captain 
changed his course for it, and found it to be the Fortune 
Hunter. ( The only fortune that ever came to it was 
when we reached it that day.) The engine of the boat 
had become disabled, and it was drifting to sea at the 
mercy of the wind and waves. Our vessel finally got 
near enough to heave a line, by which we towed the 
— 29 



466 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

disabled steamer ashore. The result of our delay on the 
sandbar was the saving of the lives of fifteen helpless 
men. 

After rescuing the Fortune Hunter we proceeded on our 
journey for Dutch harbor, on one of the Aleutian islands. 
That night the equinoctial storm commenced its pranks 
in that almost unknown sea. Our captain had only once 
before been over the route, but our only dependence was 
upon him. The billows rolled like mountains; the space 
between w^as like valleys, while the ship was tossed about 
in every direction. Nearly all the passengers were sea- 
sick, and the vessel was a desolate, dreary-looking object. 

The detention on the sandbar had caused us to run 
short of both water and provisions. During the storm 
the crew cursed, and threw up the little they had eaten. 
No wonder ! for the food provided for both passengers and 
crew was unfit to set before human beings. The cooks 
were filthy in their habits, and the vessel was overrun with 
rats. The appearance of the food indicated that they had 
free access to everything edible on board. 

Early in the morning of the fourth day out from Gulu- 
van Bay, we were surprised to find ourselves drifting 
among the Aleutian Islands, fully fifty miles out of our 
course. Every time the vessel plunged down into the 
great valleys of water, we expected to be dashed upon the 
numerous shoals, which we were surely rapidly approach- 
ing. Our captain was a courageous fellow, and was re- 
ported to be one of the best sailors of the Pacific ocean. 
He did not appear to be at all frightened, but was very 
solicitous regarding our possible peril. By heaving the 
lead and examining his charts, he soon found his bearings, 
and breathed easier, as did we all, when he turned the 
vessel about, and continued on the proper course. 

Before noon we were safely landed in Dutch harbor, 
where we took coal and remained until the terrible gale 
had somewhat subsided. After we landed, both captain 
and crew declared it was the most terrific storm in all 



AFLOAT ON A LEAKY SHIP 407 

their experience, and we congratulated ourselves upon 
having weathered it safely. 

While at Dutch harbor the rats began to abandon the 
vessel, and upon the crew noticing it their superstitions 
were aroused, for among sailors this is considered one 
of the most ominous things that can occur. Many of 
them talked among themselves of doing exactly what the 
rats were doing, and suggested that we should take an- 
other vessel. Finally they were ridiculed out of their 
notions, and we sailed away on the second day after our 
arrival. After passing through the group of islands the 
storm increased in violence, and was almost as terrific as 
l)efore. On the evening of the second day, when the 
steward went below into the storeroom among the rats for 
supplies, he came rushing frantically back and reported to 
the captain that the ship was in a sinking condition, with 
three feet of water in the hold. Immediately all hands 
were at the pumps, every bucket on board called into re- 
quisition, and both captain and crew and such of the 
passengers as were able worked till nearly morning, hand- 
ling the pumps or passing up water from the hold, and 
at last the leak was gotten under control. It must have 
been a more serious affair than the passengers imagined, 
for both the captain and mate passed the greater portion 
of the night bailing out with the rest of the crew. No 
wonder the rats had been leaving, for the ship was really 
in a sinking condition when at Dutch harbor. The boat 
had been so fearfully thrashed about in the storm, that 
when she was rising on the crest of a wave anyone in tlie 
hold could see daylight through the wrenched sides. It 
was only by skillful seamanship and willing hands that 
we were kept afloat until reaching our destination. 



468 FORTY YEARS OF ADVENTURES 

Happy was everybody on board, the morning of the 6th 
day of October, 1898, when the " slow bell " rang, and we 
ran into the harbor of Seattle. Daylight had hardly 
made its appearance, but no sooner was the boat within 
jumping distance of the wharf than I was ashore. Im- 
agine my feelings of delight at realizing that I was once 
more in my native country. But how strange everything 
appeared to me ! I hardly knew how to keep on the side- 
walk, and was often in the middle of the street or cross- 
ing a back yard. Finally I found a telegraph office, 
and sent messages to my friends that I was not dead, 
neither had I been sleeping. It was unspeakable delight 
to me to hear the whistles scream, the bells ring, the buzz 
of electric street cars, and all the other sounds of civili- 
zation to which I had so long been a stranger. One of 
the oddest and most ridiculous things to me was the crow- 
ing of roosters. I stopped and really laughed aloud, as 
their clarion notes and flapping of wings reached my ears. 
Then the cackling of hens and the "peeping" of little 
chickens all combined to make it a concert unfamiliar to 
my ears for a long time, but now recalling sweet remem- 
brances of my childhood days on the old farm. 

It was like flying through space, when I boarded the 
lightning express train for Troy, Kansas, the place that 
I had left many years previously. It was the home of my 
early manhood. I could hardly wait till the time when 
I should meet my family and the hosts of friends, the 
young men and women of long ago. Imagine my surprise, 
on arriving, at being invited into the opera-house, where 
a public reception was tendered me. When escorted to 
the stage and I looked into the faces of dear old friends, 
I was thrilled with emotions of thanksgiving that are 
indescribable. At that moment the pianist touched the 
keys, and the instrument seemed to say, " Mid pleasures 
and palaces though I may roam, be it ever so humble, 
there's no place like home." The great audience arose 
and sang that dear old song, which to the hearts of all 



HOME, SWIiET HOME 



469, 



travelers in foreign lands is most i)recious. A prayer of 
thanksgiving was offered, after which all joined in the 
song of songs, that fills the breasts of American patriots 
more than all others, " My country 'tis of thee, sweet land 
of liberty, of thee I sing. ' ' And no person ever appreciated 
songs and native land- more than, at this time, did 




3477*4 



